Your Guardian Angel
by xXPrincessMXx
Summary: Little Kairi Clayworth knows it all. If a bad person dies, he has one last chance to make up his mistakes as guardian angel. Meet Roxas Scott, who missed a lot of important lessons in life. What happens if they meet? With what consequences?
1. Part One

**Your Guardian Angel**

_Two – Shot_

_{Part One}_

"Daddy! Please tell me the story!" Little Kairi Clayworth exclaimed happily, while pressing her small hands together in a sweet attempt to get her father telling the story she wanted to hear.  
Her short, auburn hair had a reddish glow in it and her dark blue eyes sparkled with excitement.  
Her small, pale face glowed with the same excitement and her full, rosy lips were formed into a cute pout. "Please? Please, please, please?"  
Her father gently put her down on his lap again. His red spikes hung slightly in his eyes while he picked the small girl up and his green eyes sparked with tenderness.  
"Which story do you want to hear?" He asked her, already knowing the answer. She had asked for it a million times before.  
The girl snuggled up against him. "About them!" She gestured toward the ceiling.  
Axel Clayworth chuckled. The story about guardian angels fascinated his little daughter, however he missed the point where it became so interesting for his daughter.  
He didn't mind telling the story again, though.  
"You see, Kairi," He smiled when his daughter looked up at him, with big eyes, filled with fascination. "When a bad person in this world dies, he can make up for his mistakes in another life…"  
_

"That's all you've got?" Roxas Scott yelled at the man in front of him. "Is this how you're going to end this? Running away like a coward?"  
His arm was bleeding, but it wasn't a serious injury, he told himself. He had to fix it up later, after killing this guy.  
The man in front of him, Riku Harrison, looked at him, his aquamarine eyes shimmering when he shifted his feet, definitely trying to escape or to make the last step toward the man he hated.  
Yes, hated.  
Riku had never liked the blond. The blond with the frozen blue eyes, the slightly spiky blond hair and the pale face.  
Frozen, like his heart.  
Roxas Scott was bad news, everyone knew. Only the girls seemed oblivious for it.  
And for Riku, he became worse when he stole his girlfriend, Xion Lewis. Since then, Riku hated Roxas.  
But Riku had never intended on nearly stabbing the guy dead with the sword he carried with him on training.  
He missed, luckily, but now Roxas was pissed off and nearly _asked _him to finish him off.  
But he couldn't. Riku wasn't a bad person. He was actually startled he had hurt this guy so badly.  
Riku hovered over his victim. "I-I'm sorry… did I hurt you?"  
Dumb question. Of course it hurt. The blood was spilling from his arm, but the frozen eyes seemed to flame up. "No"  
And stubbornly, the boy stood up and flashed angrily at Riku.  
"Well, you're doing something?"  
Riku stepped back. "I-I didn't mean to-"  
But the boy reached in his pocket, took out his gun and pointed it at the now terrified Riku.  
_Where the heck did he get that gun? _Riku thought in his panicked state.  
He closed his eyes, knowing his end would be near.  
But the shot never came.  
He quickly opened one eye, to see Roxas had clutched his arm in pain and he hissed through his teeth. "You bastard!" He managed to growl.  
But something inside Riku had snapped, broken in two, because of the fear. The adrenaline flowing through his veins made him pick up the gun Roxas had dropped and now it was him, pointing the gun at Roxas.  
When the frozen rivers looked up, the last thing they saw was the angry, aquamarine shimmering under furrowed silver eyebrows.

"So… when a naughty boy or girl dies… they are angels immediately?" Kairi asked eagerly, her thumb in her mouth, patiently waiting for the answer she heard more than a thousand times before.  
"No, baby, not at all… they have to know what they did wrong… they have to feel regret… if they can't, they will go to hell" Axel said wisely, sticking his index - finger up in the air.

Roxas woke up with a bright light blinding his eyes. "Where am I?" He whispered when he looked around. It looked like a prison, but the only difference was that it was all so… _white _… here.  
"Where am I?" He growled into the white, before remembering he wasn't here before he lost consciousness. He quickly checked his arm, but there wasn't even a scar there. He then remembered being shot by Riku Harrison. Suddendly he realized he was dead.  
It hit him like a bus on full speed.  
He grabbed his chest, hoping for his heartbeat under his trembling fingers, but there was nothing there. Only the fall and rise of his breathing, which quickened every second.  
"No…" He murmured, looking around, still with his hand on his chest. "No!" He said, louder now. "No! No! No!"  
He banged his fists against the wall and gave a roar of desperation. "No!"  
"Now, now… this is no way for a guy like you to behave" A calm voice interrupted him in his self-pity.  
Roxas turned and saw a boy with bright, blue eyes and brown, spiky hair and a tanned skin.  
"What do you want from me? Let me go!" Roxas shouted at the boy.  
The boy chuckled. "Forgot your manners? At least I did remember them when I was in your place" He grinned at Roxas, who was getting angrier every second.  
The boy removed one of his hands from the pockets of his jeans and extended it. "Sora Parker"  
Roxas stared at his hand before some kind of instinct made him reach forward to grab the hand of the boy in front of him. "Roxas Scott" He grumbled while letting go.  
Sora suddendly sighed of relief and patted Roxas on his back. "Dude, I think you just saved a part of your after-life!"  
Roxas lifted a brow. "What the heck are you talking about?"  
Sora looked at him. "Listen now, Scott, if you want to be able to live again, or at least, kind of live again, then everything counts. Every mistake can make you burn in hell forever. It's your choice"  
Roxas frowned. It sounded serious enough to listen. Maybe he could get out of this, and then, he would shoot Riku and happily live his life again.  
But for now, he had to fool this Sora, whoever he was.  
_

"Daddy?" Kairi interrupted. "How do the older angels know the regret is real?"  
Axel chuckles. "They're pretty smart, and they know how it was like to stand there as well… they know things nobody can imagine…"  
_

"Roxas, if you want to save your future, feel regret" Sora said calmly before sitting on the ground and looking up the boy standing in front of him.  
Roxas' blue eyes widened. "I beg your pardon?" He managed to splutter out.  
"Come on, Roxas, feel it. Feel the pain you did to others… think about what you did? By killing people, you destroyed happy families, you broke relations and killed their futures… can you feel the pain?"  
Roxas felt a little sting in his chest. He never thought about killing. He just pulled the trigger and watched his victim die before his eyes.  
"Take the responsibility for your deeds, Roxas… feel the pain of the broken hearts you caused… "  
Another sting through his chest. Roxas lowered his hand and stared at his feet.  
"Feel the pain of the little kids, waiting for their parents to return… which never happened… because..." Sora began, still with the same calm voice.  
"Because I killed them…" Roxas murmured under his breath.  
It stung. Repeatedly. Roxas brought his hand up to his chest again and tried to rub it away.  
Sora nodded. "Yes… because you killed them…"  
Roxas closed his eyes and shuddered. He felt regret. Not much, but for someone as heartless as he was before he died, it was a gigantic progress.  
"Well, you made it buddy…" Sora said suddendly, after a silence. "You're not perfect, but you're on the correct way"  
Roxas shuddered again. "So… I'm going to hell now?" He said gloomily. He started to realize there wasn't a way back. Riku was going to live and he was dead. Because his arm had hurt so badly he had let the gun drop. And Riku shot him. Well, at least Riku was going to hell too.  
Sora folded his arms. "No"  
Roxas looked up and stared at the boy in disbelief. "All those people I killed? All I've done wasn't much good, right? They always say the bad ones are going to hell, ain't that true?"  
Sora grinned. "Usually, that's true, indeed, Mr. Scott, but there's a way in making up your mistakes if you feel enough regret…"  
Roxas looked back at his feet. "Well… what's that way?"  
"Ever heard of guardian angels?"  
_

"And everyone has a guardian angel?" Kairi asked, her eyes shimmering with innocence.  
Axel placed his index-finger on the tip of her nose. "Yup! Everyone has one… but some are very talented and do an excellent job, and some are real worse in protecting…"  
Little Kairi nodded in understanding. "And the person he protects dies…"  
Axel laughed. "You know the whole story already… is there anything you don't know?"  
Kairi's eyebrows knitted together in a thoughtful frown. She knew she had to go to bed if she didn't come up with a question now. "Err… Daddy… who is my guardian angel?"  
Axel hugged his daughter tighter. "I don't know… but he's doing a good job, ain't he?"  
So soft Kairi couldn't hear, Axel muttered darkly: "And if he didn't, I would be waiting at the gates of hell, ready to beat the shit outta him"  
_

Kairi, now a teenager, laid on her back on her bed, flipping through the pages of her favorite book.  
She was still fascinated by the idea there was an angel, only one, watching over her, just as billions others watched out for others. But she didn't ask for the story again. Especially not from her dad.  
Her mother, Naminé Clayworth, came in after knocking on the door. "Kairi?"  
"I'm here" Kairi mumbled, still looking for the quote she was looking for.  
"Dad's gonna be late at home tonight…" Her mother said, while sitting down, carefully not to crush the amounts of papers which were spread around over the bed.  
"Oh…"  
Naminé frowned at the lack of attention of her daughter. "Shouldn't you tidy up this weekend?"  
Kairi didn't reply, but kept flipping through the pages.  
"Kairi… listen… I know you're upset about your father… but-"  
Kairi suddendly sat up, looking at her mother. "I'm. Definitely not. Upset. About. Dad" She said curtly.  
Her mother reached out for her only daughter and stroke her cheek. "You are" Naminé stated gently.  
"And I understand why… I mean, he should never have went off with that woman, but-"  
"But what mom? He knew perfectly well what he was doing!" Kairi grumbled while picking her book up once again.  
"But he's still your father… and he still loves you"  
"He loves you just as much… so why did he ran off with that-"  
"Kairi!"  
"Fine! But why?"  
Naminé shrugged. "He had regret, Kairi… he cried at night…"  
Regret…  
Kairi frowned when she remembered the story again. Her father said regret was the first step to improve your life, making it better.  
If her father was so sorry about running off with another woman for a week… maybe things could go back to normal?  
But Kairi didn't say anything, she just read the lines of the page she was looking for… or pretending she was reading and she heard her mother leave with a sigh.  
When the door silently closed, Kairi closed her book and stood up, walked over to her window and looked outside.  
"So… if there's a guardian angel out there… why didn't he stop dad cheating on mom?" She whispered, and for the first time ever, she doubted the story was true.

After years and years of practice, Roxas was ready to fulfill his job; Making up his mistakes by taking care of a human. This time for a long time.  
"Aren't you excited?" Sora asked with a smile in his voice. "I mean, it must be cooler than hanging around here, practicing and practicing and doing nothing but watching over them!"  
Roxas sighed. "Well… what's so exciting about replacing some old idiot and making sure a car doesn't run the damned human over?" He grumbled while kicking a small stone.  
Sora rolled with his eyes. "Really, sometimes, I wonder how the heck you made it to heaven…"  
Roxas raised his brow. "Excuse me? You were the one who sent me here!"  
Sora sighed. "Okay… I've gotta admit I kind of lost my mind back there, yes"  
Roxas laughed. "Sure! I always wondered what missed in that pretty face of yours"  
Sora grimaced and Roxas saluted. "Anyway, gotta go! Catch you later, Parker!"  
Sora looked at Roxas, who walked away. "Good luck… Roxas…"  
_

Axel stared at the sleeping form of his daughter. She didn't deserve this mess he put her into. He once said he would beat up the guy who would mess up her life, and now it appeared to be him, her own _father_.  
He felt the regret, burning in his heart, aching in his chest and spreading through his body, felt the regret twist in his stomach before he walked over to the bed of his daughter, watching her breathe in and breathe out.  
Her eyes were red and puffy… she had cried.  
He gently stroke her hair and tucked her in. "Good night… Kairi"

Roxas looked around the street. He was finally back on earth again, but he didn't really want to be here. He wanted to be up there, thinking about how he would plan the rest of his eternity.  
And now he was stuck here, taking care of some human again. He had practiced with other girls, but this would be his task… as long as the human lived…  
But Roxas had forget about how it was like to be a human.  
He didn't even remember how it was like to have a heart, beating to keep you alive.  
Roxas thought it was a weakness, having a beating heart. It could so easily stop its duty… it could so easily be stopped…  
Roxas ran a hand through his messy hair and walked over to the house the human he had to protect lived in.  
Nobody could see him, except for the one he had to protect.  
He walked in, took the stairs and walked randomly in a room.  
A woman with blonde hair and a pale face was sleeping, while a man with red, spiky hair sat straight up in bed, his head resting in his hands. "What have I done…" He whispered. "What did I do to them… "  
Roxas felt his own regret flame up when he heard the whispers. It made his throat dry up and his chest ache and sting. The tiny stings he had felt when he first met Sora had grown worse.  
He quickly walked out and took the next door. This was the right one.  
The girl in the bed looked a lot like her mother, but her hair had the reddish glow of her father.  
Roxas took a quick glance at her and hated it that he had to admit she was pretty.  
Hell, he had seen so many pretty faces before in his life and in his eternity. A girl he once had, Xion, wasn't bad and all those others he had been dating with weren't ugly either.  
But even though the girl had cried, obviously, she was still pretty. Most of the girls look pretty bad when they cried…  
But Roxas didn't pay any attention to her anymore. He took a seat on her chair and simply waited for her to awake, to introduce himself and to watch over her. Maybe, when _she _died… he could have peace, with his regret gone and his heart beating again.  
Sora's heart was beating again. It was just not fair. Just because he had protected a girl her whole life.  
When she died, at the age of ninety, Sora's heart started to beat again, lived because he had learned to love, not to destroy. But suddendly the girl made a soft noise and his eyes flashed back to her.  
"Dad…" The girl murmured, her eyebrows knitted together in worry. "Don't go! Don't leave us alone!"  
Ah… the man he saw just a few moments ago must have done something wrong… which hurt his wife and child.  
Roxas blew a strand of his hair out of his face. He doubted that it would be as worse as his deeds. Definitely not.  
The girl didn't speak again.  
But somehow, Roxas couldn't get bored. He stared at the girl, wondering why she lived and he not. Why he had to protect her and she had to be the living one.  
But maybe… maybe this was how it was meant to be.

Kairi woke up, feeling tired and sad. She wasn't angry anymore, only sad. Maybe she could try to forgive her father. If he was truly sorry, maybe she could just try… hoping it would be enough…  
She sat up, rubbed at her forehead and looked at the sun, which sent its warming light over her face. She closed her eyes for a second and enjoyed the small amount of warmth on her face. Maybe she could go to the beach today. The sea was too cold for swimming, but just laying on the beach would be great. Maybe she wouldn't be that pale anymore… everyone kept asking if she felt all right…  
She opened her eyes and met a pair of blue ones.  
She resisted the urge to scream, only because the boy had obviously been here all night, and if he wanted to harm her, he would've done it earlier, right? She kept her mouth shut and looked at the boy. The boy, who was about sixteen years old, had messy, blond hair and his pale face stood gloomy and his features were a bit darkened by worry and remorse, but behind the frozen rivers, in the depths lay a small spark, which was obviously never let out before.  
"Hey" The boy said simply, while staring at her.  
She blinked twice, and, not able to be unfriendly, she greeted him. "Hi"  
The boy suddendly smiled. "You know, usually girls are screaming and yelling for help. I guess you're the first who remains calm"  
Kairi frowned. He didn't hurt her… but he still didn't have a reason to be in her room. "Who are you?"  
The boy sighed and studied the floor. "But in the end, it always ends with that question" He said, although it seemed like he was talking to himself.  
He looked up. "I'm Roxas Scott"  
Without thinking about it, she just replied him again. "Kairi Clayworth"  
The boy grunted. "Can't you be a bit more rude? It's not so easy being around someone who's first of all alive, and secondly nicer than I've ever been in my whole life, while I could be the ordinary rapist you know from the streets"  
He stared at her, waiting for her to say something.  
"Why being rude if you stayed here all night and didn't harm me?" Kairi whispered, now slowly getting up and still trying to figure out who the hell Roxas Scott was and what he did here in her room. And why he talked in riddles. She didn't get a thing of everything he said, except for his name.  
Roxas suddendly became interested. His eyes slid over her face and he seemed to memorize every inch of it. When he returned to her eyes, the frozen part seemed to have melted a bit.  
"Nice to meet you" He said finally.  
"Pleasure" Kairi responded immediately. "But what exactly are you doing in my room?"  
Roxas suddendly laughed. "Finally a normal response! I was already scared you were going to ask me to stay for dinner!"  
Then he grinned at her. "You won't need to ask, though, I'm already staying"  
Kairi was startled. "What? Why?"  
"Because I'm your guardian angel" He said slowly. "Replacing the old one you had… I thought it was nice to introduce myself at last"  
Kairi's eyes widened and she nearly fainted from shock.  
So her father's story was right… after all…  
_

Roxas looked once more at the girl he had to protect. He had a long way to go, because the girl was young and healthy… however her skin was pretty pale. Even paler than his own skin.  
Maybe he could get her outside, trying to get her more tanned.  
She seemed a bit startled, but not really… surprised.  
"Guess you've heard something about it earlier" He said, wondering where she could have heard it before. All the girls and boys he had to protect for a week or a month or a year never heard of it.  
Even some angels had never heard about it before they became them.  
How could this meaningless girl know?  
She slowly nodded, while she pulled the blanket to her chin, almost if she was hiding from him. "I do" She said with a clear, steady voice.  
He couldn't help but being curious. He had, when he was a human, never heard of any guardian angel.  
But before he could ask where she had heard it, she was quicker and asked him first.  
"Then how did you die?" Her voice was dimmed to a whisper and her eyes were wide and deep. A big, blue pool of fascination and pity.  
She knew.  
"Does it matter?" He said nonchalantly. "The point is that I'm not going to let you die"  
"Then why did _your _guardian angel let you die?" Kairi went on, her voice softened more.  
Roxas frowned. He never met his guardian angel, so he couldn't ask.  
Maybe his guardian angel wanted to let his heart beat again and live further in heaven without the heavy task of being responsible for a human.  
But maybe his guardian angel knew Roxas wasn't going to change. If he didn't die, he would've killed so many people his chance to get into heaven was lost forever.  
"There could've been so many reasons why my guardian angel let me die" Roxas said, while folding his arms. He rested his chin on his arms, but never kept his eyes off the girl.  
There was a soft knock on the door and Kairi shot up, startled. "You awake?" A man's voice called for her. Kairi answered with a clear voice. "Yeah"  
The door opened, but Roxas wasn't scared to be seen. He knew they couldn't see him.  
Apparently Kairi thought he would disappear into thin air, because she just answered him without telling Roxas to hide.  
The father he saw before came in, remorse clear on his face. "Kairi?" He asked gently, avoiding his daughter's eyes.  
Kairi quickly shot a glance toward Roxas. He hadn't disappeared into thin air. He calmly looked back.  
"He can't see me, nor hear me" Roxas said casually. "He doesn't know I'm here"  
Kairi's eyes shot back to her father and studied him.  
"Dad?"  
Her father took a deep breath and coughed once. "I wanted to tell you I'm sorry"  
Kairi turned away, averted her gaze to the window and didn't speak.  
Roxas looked at the father. His green eyes were flat and empty, but when his daughter looked away, they were sad.  
"Kairi… I really am. I never wanted to do hurt you or your mother like this…" He began on a pleading tone.  
Roxas looked back at Kairi, wondering if Kairi could see what he saw. If Kairi knew how much it hurt to regret something.  
Kairi's eyes suddendly shot up to Roxas'.  
What did she want him to say?  
Roxas frowned in confusion. Humans were usually so easy… the only thing they wanted was glory, money, sex and a whole group of friends. Then why did he wanted to know what she meant with that look? She was just a dull human, nothing more and nothing less.  
"Then why did you do it?" Kairi said, folding her arms and looking down.  
"She made me feel… younger…" The man said bitterly. "But it didn't take me long to find out I didn't _want _to be younger if that meant I would have to leave you and Naminé…"  
Maybe Kairi had a sister called Naminé. Roxas leaned backwards and stretched his spine. Maybe he could catch up with Sora once he had a human too.  
Sora was different. Sora hadn't been real bad… he had cheated on his girlfriend once, but immediately shot himself because he couldn't handle the regret. Sora didn't have much to make up for.  
But Roxas had.  
All the people he had killed, all the hearts he broke. He had to make up for them all.  
By protecting this girl.  
Kairi suddendly sighed. "Dad… how much do you regret it?"  
"More than I can show you…" The man said, with a soft tone. His voice broke at the end.  
Kairi looked up at her father and ran a hand through her messy hair. "In that case…"  
Suddendly hope bloomed up in the empty eyes of her father. A spark in the pools of regret and remorse.  
"I'm not saying I forgave you… but I'm willing to try…" Kairi said. Much softer, barely a whisper, she added: "I'm going to try hard"  
Her father heard and he bowed his head. "I wished I could show you how… how grateful I am, Kairi… I-"  
He didn't know what to say anymore and Kairi had turned to the window again.  
He sighed and turned to the door. "I love you, Kairi"  
Before he closed the door behind him, Kairi turned. "I love you too, dad"  
The worn face of the man disappeared when he smiled for a second and suddendly he was ten years younger. He walked out and closed the door.  
Kairi let herself fall down on her bed and sighed. "I'm sorry you had to see that"  
"You know, that was actually pretty nice of you" Roxas stated. "I wasn't sure you were going to forgive him"  
Kairi frowned and closed her eyes. "I didn't forgive him yet"  
Roxas snorted. "Well, knowing you, you're definitely going to, and I bet you'll forgive him within a couple of weeks" He challenged her to scold at him. But she didn't respond the way he wanted her to.  
Kairi opened her eyes and sat up. "Enough about me" She said abruptly, but the kindness in her voice was still there. Her eyes were narrow. This subject was still an open wound, but she didn't turn angry, like he had hoped for.  
Roxas wanted to find a way to express his frustration. Why did he have to protect someone who was obviously… _good_? This girl would go straight to heaven, wouldn't even have to turn into a guardian angel to make up for whatever she had done.  
He wanted to see someone making the same mistakes as him, so he wouldn't be the only one. "We were talking about you" Kairi went on, staring at him like she had done before.  
Roxas raised his brow while returning her gaze. "There's nothing much to talk about, you know" He said, the calmness fading a bit.  
What would Sora say? Probably something along the lines of: "It's nothing special. All you have to know is that I'll be around you and protecting you"  
But he couldn't. Somehow, he found himself wanting to tell her, wanting to hand some of the regret over to her, wanting her to comfort him.  
He quickly shove that thought aside and thought of another way to get himself out of this.  
"Aren't you supposed to _live _your life instead of talking about mine? Mine is over, while you have a full one to live" Roxas said, aware he sounded bitterly. He was still annoyed about the fact he was dead and she was alive.  
Kairi backed away from him and her eyes were... sad.  
"I'm sorry" She murmured while averting her eyes to the floor. "I didn't want to hurt you"  
Roxas wanted to kick himself and drown himself into the sea. Why couldn't she get mad with him, so he could yell at her, trying to get his feelings out of his body instead of keeping them inside.  
But somehow, _he _was scared _he _hurt _her_. That didn't make sense at all! She was just someone he had to watch over, trying to prevent her getting run over by a drunken driver.  
He gestured to the window. "Why don't you go outside with some friends? That's what all you humans do, right?"  
She walked over to her closet. "Not everyone" She said, trying to sound casual, but her voice trembled a bit.  
"Then what do you do?" He asked, trying to sound a bit more polite than before.  
She heard the change in his voice and turned. "I was planning to go to the beach, but not with my friend" Her eyes roamed over his face and then her eyes narrowed.  
"Oh" He said, while looking to the window. He used to have a lot of friends… but not even one of them could save his life when he needed them.  
But Riku, why was Riku the one who killed him and got him into this?  
His nonchalant look fell and he knew he was looking rather deviously than angelic now, but he didn't care. He didn't want to be here, taking care of some girl and that girl was allowed to know that.  
"Roxas?"  
She said his name like she was testing it, tasting the sound of it on her lips.  
He returned his gaze to her, noticing she had changed her nightgown to jeans and a simple top. You couldn't see she was going to the beach. He narrowed his eyes. _Was _she going to the beach or was she lying?  
"Yeah?"  
She rubbed over her arm and looked down, clearly feeling uneasy. "I don't know what you are going to do, but-"  
He stretched himself again and cut her off. "Don't worry, I can take care of myself"  
"You sure?" She asked, concern clear in her bright blue eyes.  
He didn't answer, but looked away, to the window again. He didn't want to see the concern in her eyes.  
She waited a couple of minutes before moving. "I'll see you around then" She said before gently closing the door behind her.  
He closed his eyes and heard her light footsteps at the front door.  
Suddendly, as if it was a pull of a magnet, he shot out of the chair and ran after her. He didn't think about why he was doing it, nor why he wanted to follow her, but somehow, he just _had_ to follow her.  
Like she was the magnet and he was the iron.  
_

Kairi walked through the street to her best friend's house instead of going to the beach. She changed her mind a bit. She was going to the beach with her best friend instead of going alone. Her hands were stuck in her pocket and she wore a deep frown on her face. She was worried. About her mother, if she was able to forgive her father. About her father, if he learned from his mistake and never would do it again. About her best friend, if she was doing fine. About her… guardian angel. He seemed a bit off somewhere.  
Every angel had been a human before. And guardian angels weren't the nicest of people before they swapped their life for the angelic form.  
But _he_ was nice enough to her, at least.  
She wanted to know what happened to him, but she wasn't planning on discussing it with him now. There was lots of time to talk with him, right?  
She rang the bell when she arrived at her friend's house. She sighed and took a few steps back.  
"_Kairi_!" Her friend Taylor Thomas exclaimed when she opened the door. Her long, light brown nearly reached her waist and her brown eyes were shimmering with excitement. "What are you doing here?"  
Kairi gestured to the bright sky above them. "Look at the weather! I was heading for the beach, and wondered if you want to-"  
Taylor, however, didn't give her a chance to finish her sentence, she already jumped inside and ran upstairs, while yelling to her. "Just gimme a second!"  
Kairi chuckled while leaning against the doorway. "I'm counting!" She shouted at Taylor.  
Taylor returned with a bag with two towels and some soda. "Here I am!" She exclaimed and locked the front door. "Oh, and by the way, I'm coming with you" She added with a huge grin.  
Kairi smirked and rolled her eyes. "No way! You're coming along? I wouldn't have guessed that!"  
Taylor laughed and whacked her shoulder. "Let's get moving, Ms. Sarcastic!"  
They walked together on the sideway and Taylor told Kairi about the date she had with her crush Tom Wright. She was in love with him since the ninth year of the secondary school and they finally went out for the first time.  
"Well, it was pretty awesome! We went out to the cinema and however the movie sucked, we talked and laughed together all the time!"  
Kairi smiled. "Hey, I'm really happy for you!"  
The happiness seemed to radiate off her friend like a lamp. "I'm feeling like I'm floating in the sky, somewhere far beyond this earth" She said dreamily.  
Kairi chuckled and whacked her arm. "Earth to Taylor!" She joked. "We're going to the beach, so I'm not trying to jump into the air to be with you, you know"  
They laughed again and caught the first sight of the beach.  
Taylor started running and Kairi knew she could never catch up with her now.  
So she just smiled and calmly walked over to her, showing that there was no need to rush.  
There never was, except from making homework.  
_

Roxas followed Kairi through the streets by walking over the roofs. He didn't want her to see him, and to avoid any chance of her seeing him, he decided to take the roof instead of the sideway.  
Her hands were stuck in her pockets and she frowned, which resulted in a darkening of her eyes. Her auburn hair fell slightly in her face, but it didn't seem to bother her.  
He had no idea where she was heading, but the magnetic pull was still driving him toward her, so he didn't have much a choice than to follow her.  
She walked to a house and rang the bell. Roxas' eyes narrowed. So she had been lying to him…  
Somehow he didn't like the thought, however _he _lied most of the time when he was alive.  
He sighed and sat down, watching the girl beneath him.  
Some girl opened the door and he was sure the next three streets could hear her too.  
"_Kairi_! What are you doing here?" The girl exclaimed happily.  
Roxas had no idea what led Kairi here. He stared at the clouds, hoping Sora could see him and keep him company. Sora didn't answer, of course. He was surely busy enough there. He'd better keep an eye on his girl.  
He leaned forward to get a better look of the situation beneath him.  
Kairi gestured vaguely to the sky. "Look at the weather! I was heading for the beach, and wondered if you want to-"  
So she didn't lie? He could've expected it. But the most surprising thing was that she had actually listened to him.  
He was maybe her guardian angel, but all those others he protected never listened to him. He was just a stranger after all, telling them he was sent to watch over them.  
If that would happen to him when he was alive, he would've laughed and ignored him or her. But well… she _was _completely different than him.  
Her friend disappeared into the house and yelled: "Just gimme a second"  
Kairi chuckled and leaned against the doorway, a fond smile playing on her lips. "I'm counting!" She shouted inside the house.  
It didn't take long before her friend returned with a bag. "Here I am!" She exclaimed while locking the front door. "Oh, and by the way, I'm coming with you" She added in one breath.  
Kairi rolled with her eyes and smiled. "No way! You're coming along? I wouldn't have guessed that!"  
She earned a laugh from her friend and a whack against her shoulder, which resulted an unexpected low snarl inside Roxas' chest. He was about to drop himself to the ground and let the damned, nameless girl pay for that whack, but Kairi shrugged it off and smiled back at the girl.  
"Let's get moving, Ms. Sarcastic!" The girl continued happily and Kairi followed her to the street.  
This wasn't a serious danger, but yet, he was all fed up already. Kairi was so fragile… that girl could easily have broken a few bones in _his _girl's fragile body…  
Roxas sighed and closed his eyes for a moment, controlling the anger in his chest. He had no reason to be angry. There wasn't a reason to be angry. It was a playful act. The girl never meant to hurt Kairi.  
They walked together while he followed them, silently, but fast. The girl told Kairi about some date she had, but Roxas didn't pay attention. His eyes only followed Kairi, the magnetic pull was jerking him forward again.  
He remembered vaguely dating a girl named Xion. Nothing special… it was mostly to thwart Riku.  
Kairi listened with a kind, interested look on her face and she smiled when the girl finished her story.  
"Hey, I'm really happy for you!"  
Of course. He didn't really know Kairi, but even _he _could tell she put others above herself.  
The girl said something again and Kairi chuckled and whacked the arm of her friend. "Earth to Taylor!" She said, giving him the name of her friend. "We're going to the beach, so I'm not trying to jump into the air to be with you, you know"  
They laughed together, but Roxas frowned. He was quite sure Kairi _would _jump into the air to be with Taylor if that would be her only chance to see her friend.  
The beach appeared in sight and the girl, Taylor, started running. Kairi, however, just walked over to here. Calmness and trust were radiating off her, nearly making him jerk out his hair of frustration.  
"Damn it! Who thinks he's the funny guy at home to give me the responsibility of the only living angel on earth!" He growled while still following the two girls. He took a deep breath and jumped off the roof to mend with the shadows. Taylor would never see him if he didn't want to, but Kairi could see him and hear him, so that's why he had to keep on distance.  
Roxas closed his eyes, frowning, trying to remember the times when he went to the beach.  
Usually, he was part of the gang, Organization XIII, and he would kiss five or six girls, flirt with the rest of them and threaten some boys.  
But, of course, Kairi and Taylor wouldn't be doing stuff like that.  
Normally, girls would swim, or gossip together while studying every boy walking around, giggling and laughing.  
And, of course, Kairi knew how to surprise him.  
The girls sat down on towels and looked at the sea. The beach was crowded, however not many people went swimming. Naturally, nobody could see him, and through the loudness of all the other visitors, Kairi couldn't hear him.  
The girls sat in silence, simply enjoying the sun and the view.  
Roxas felt another magnetic pull toward Kairi, stronger than before and he sat down behind the girls. Just so far that Kairi wouldn't notice him, but close enough to keep an eye on her.  
Kairi was so different from him that it seemed impossible to him that they put _him _as _her _protector.  
And at the same time, he wondered if they did it to teach him the stuff he missed in his life.  
_

After walking Taylor home, Kairi made her way to home. She was always happy after seeing Taylor.  
Her worries about her dad, mom and Roxas were vanished a bit. She felt happy and content and was really glad she listened to Roxas.  
She opened the front door and walked into the living room. "I'm home!" She said, while looking around the corner of the living room.  
Her mother looked up from her book. "Hello love. Had a nice day?"  
She simply nodded. "It was great! I went with Taylor to the beach"  
Naminé smiled, clearly satisfied her daughter wasn't isolating herself because of her father's deeds.  
"That's great!"  
Kairi just smiled back at her mother and went upstairs.  
Just as she expected, Roxas sat on her chair, his chin resting upon his folded arms which laid on the chair. She had no idea he had returned home just a few seconds after her.  
"Hey!" She said cheerful, trying to be friendly for her guardian.  
The boy looked up and stared penetrating in her eyes. "Hi"  
She sat down on her bed. "Enjoyed yourself?" She asked, trying to bring up a conversation.  
Roxas suddendly chuckled. "It was okay"  
They stared in each other's eyes, trying to estimate each other.  
"How long is it since you've been on earth?" Kairi finally asked, curious.  
To her surprise, he didn't back off like he did in the morning, but he just looked at her.  
"Something about… ten years?" Roxas frowned and seemed to be in deep thoughts before he looked up with a smile.  
"Ten years, four months, three days ago and eight hours to be exactly"  
Kairi hesitated but smiled back at him, to encourage him in the hope he kept telling things.  
"How old are you?"  
"Sixteen" Came his reply immediately.  
She cocked her head to the left. "You were six when you died?"  
Roxas shook his head, blond strands wiping over his forehead. "You're not getting older when you died. I was sixteen when I died and I'll be sixteen forever"  
He still smiled at her, and she hoped he was getting used to be here again.  
"So, what did you do when I was off? What did you miss the most when you were…"  
She frowned and tried to look in her vocabulary to look for the correct word.  
"Above" Roxas helpfully finished her sentence.  
"Yeah" Kairi quickly said.  
Roxas' eyes roamed over her face before shrugging. "I don't know… when I was up there, all I wanted was to go back to earth and now I'm here… all I want to is go back"  
"I'm sorry" She quickly said, afraid she hurt him somehow.  
His smile came back. "You know, I'm getting used to the fact you're so pure"  
Her eyes widened at his comment and she blushed. "Thanks… I guess"  
Roxas chuckled. "The fact I wasn't that good makes it a whole lot harder" He said, staring searchingly in her eyes.  
"What do you mean?" She managed to splutter, not wanting to believe he did something extremely bad in his life. It couldn't be that worse...  
The smile didn't fall, but his eyes cooled down a bit. "I don't think it's time to talk about that yet" He said calmly.  
"So, you're going to tell?" She said, slightly leaning forward to him without noticing. He grimaced at her and she quickly added: "Once?"  
"Once" He answered, the smile back on his face again.

It had been two years ago since Roxas became Kairi's guardian angel.  
Sora was assigned to Taylor, but both girls had no idea about their best friend having a guardian angel as well.  
"So, how are things?" Sora asked while folding his arms behind his head and laying flatly on his back.  
They sat on the roof of Taylor's house, like they did every once in a month.  
Roxas stared at the sky. "Couldn't be better" He said warmly.  
Kairi was easy to protect and absolutely easy to like. Maybe a bit _too_ easy to like, though.  
"You know, I think that Kairi has changed you" Sora stated casually, his blue eyes flashing to Roxas, who froze on the spot.  
"Just as much as Taylor changed you" Roxas quickly answered, his eyes avoiding Sora's.  
Sora chuckled. "Taylor and me are just friends… you know that"  
Roxas frowned. This was coming too close to what was happening between Kairi and him lately. "Are you trying to say Kairi and me aren't friends?"  
Sora shrugged. "Maybe. But be honestly, Rox, what do you want from her?"  
Roxas stared unhappily at the sky again. "I want her to be alive" He murmured. "And I want her to be happy"  
Sora chuckled. "See? You're not all gloomy anymore about the fact she lives and you don't"  
Roxas shrugged as well. "She lives her life better than I lived mine"  
Sora's gaze abruptly changed into a more serious one.  
"You know what happens when you're falling in love with her, don't you?"  
Roxas' eyes were totally desperate now. "I'm _not _falling for her!" His voice sounded pleading, however he tried to sound strongly and determined.  
There fell a silence, where Sora looked critically at Roxas and Roxas twiddled with his thumbs, his frown deepened even more.  
Roxas threw his hands up in the air in defeat. "Okay, maybe I'm falling a bit for her, fine! But nothing will happen until it grows serious!"  
"Roxas… she won't get older when it grows serious! That's a lot what changes!"  
Roxas' eyes darkened. "I know"  
Sora suddendly turned. "You're holding it back, aren't you?"  
Roxas gritted his teeth. "I'm trying"  
Another silence fell between them until Roxas sighed.  
He stared at his hands. "Sora, I'm really trying to keep a distance between us… but it's getting harder and harder…"  
Sora sighed and patted his friend on his shoulder. Their time was up. "Lots of success," He started, looking at Roxas with pity. "And I'll see you next month"  
"Yeah. Catch up with you later" Roxas murmured. Soon his friend was gone and he was alone.  
He didn't want to go back yet, however he was aching to check on Kairi. He dropped his head in his hands.  
He just needed to be alone for a while.  
He never felt lonely before, but without Kairi's warmth wrapping around him like a blanket on cold winter days, it was like he was standing all alone forever, and for the first time ever, it bothered him.  
Maybe because he knew that if he would go back, Kairi was waiting for him and that staying here meant there was the lonely silence.  
Roxas let out a sigh and stood up before walking to Kairi's home.  
Roxas was known as a heartless person, a person who never showed his feelings.  
Two years later, Kairi had managed to melt the frozen heart of Roxas and let his feelings flow.  
But now Roxas tried to tie them to his heart before he went to see Kairi. He knew that if he ever admitted he was falling for her, it would be harder to protect her and save his own after-life.  
But he knew he couldn't look at her that way anymore. She wasn't just a way to reach the after-life he wanted anymore.  
She was more, and it was stupid to deny it, because it was just the truth. He had to be with her for years and years and years and years. He had to lock his feelings up inside him to save Kairi's life.  
And it became harder and harder the more time he spent with her.  
_

Kairi laid on her stomach, her hand absently playing with a strand of her hair and her blue eyes were sliding across the pages of the book she was reading.  
The small lamp beside her bed spread a soft light through the room and the blanket her mother once made for her laid nonchalantly over her feet.  
She decided to read some of her favorite books while waiting for Roxas to return. Every once in a month he went to see someone, he said.  
It was late… maybe too late. She looked up and stared anxiously at the window. He should've been back already…  
She knew it was _his _task to watch over _her_, but somehow she couldn't stop worrying about her blond angel.  
She sighed and put her book away. There was no sense in reading now, with the worries filling her mind.  
Could an angel die for a second time? Could an angel be hurt? Could an angel feel at all?  
Kairi frowned while resting her forehead on her book. Every time Roxas was around her, it seemed like he was just as human as her, maybe with a few exceptions, but usually, he seemed normal.  
But Roxas knew more about life than she, the one who was living it.  
Roxas knew more about people than she did, the one who was talking with them.  
But somehow, she thought she knew more about feelings than he did.  
She sighed and closed her eyes, waiting for familiar footsteps on her floor, for any sign he was home.  
She slowly felt herself drift away, and the warm, heavy cloud in her head seemed to drown out any other thought.  
Kairi let out one last sigh and fell asleep.  
_

When Roxas let himself fall down of the roof and jumped through her window and landed with a soft 'thud', Kairi didn't move at all.  
Roxas' eyes flashed immediately to Kairi and he felt a small smile grow on his face when he saw the girl, asleep.  
He made his way over to her bed and sat down beside her, slowly removing the book she used as pillow and let her head rest on his hand. The warmth of her cheek warmed him up, as if he was sitting next to a fire.  
"Hey" He whispered, knowing she wouldn't reply. He didn't care.  
He slowly removed his hand and tucked her in before turning off the light and sitting in the chair next to her bed.  
He missed her.  
He had been away for three hours and he had missed her.  
He wished he could sleep right now, and safely dream of her without any consequences.  
_

The next morning, Kairi woke up. The blue eyes watching her didn't surprise or startle her anymore.  
She was used to it… it would've been a shock if they weren't there.  
"Good morning" Roxas said simply. Not cheerfully or gloomily. Just calmly.  
Kairi rubbed her eyes and sat up. "How late is it?"  
"Nine o'clock" He answered while gesturing to the clock above her head.  
She wrapped the blanket around her and stared at him, reproachfully. "You were late yesterday"  
His eyes roamed over her face, before he opened his mouth. "I-"  
He shook his head and closed his mouth again. "I'm sorry" He said.  
Kairi sighed. "You should've said it, so I wouldn't be worried" She said, while shaking the hair from her eyes.  
"You were worried?" His voice sounded amused. She looked up and his eyes were twinkling.  
When she thought about the moment they met, she was almost hundred percent sure his eyes were a whole lot colder than they were now… but maybe she imagined it. It was like his eyes were always like this: warm, gentle and twinkling.  
"What's wrong with that?" She said defensively. She was worried about Taylor too, so it really shouldn't feel like confessing something, right?  
He cocked his head to the side. "You missed me?"  
The edges of his lips curled upward while waiting for her answer.  
Kairi felt a blush warming her cheeks up until they were bright red. She averted her eyes to the floor and frowned. Did she miss him?  
Always.  
When he looked to the sky, obviously wishing he was there instead with her, while watching her living her boring life.  
When he was gone every once in the month, leaving her alone.  
When he said something what seemed like good-bye, even when she just went to Taylor.  
When he wished her goodnight, and knowing she wouldn't see him until the morning.  
She missed him.  
"I missed you" She whispered finally, her cheeks still glowing a bright red and her eyes still focussed on the floor.  
"I'm glad" He said when she lifted her eyes and met his. "Because I missed you too"  
His eyes were warm and gently as always and she felt something inside her burst. Something she had been holding back for a while was now freely running through her veins.  
"But you really shouldn't worry about me" He chuckled. "_I _am the one who's supposed to worry about _you_. And besides, I can take care of myself" His voice turned dark at that point.  
He stood up and stretched himself, completely at ease.  
Kairi got up as well and walked over to the door, so she could have breakfast and make some homework.  
But when she walked past him, she wrapped her hands lightly around his waist and pressed her face in his chest for a second.  
Then, she let him go and stepped back to walk over to the door, but Roxas took a hold of her wrist and turned her back into his arms.  
"Just a moment…" He murmured while he buried his face in her neck.  
She sighed with content and held him tightly to her.  
Just forever.  
_

Kairi was alone at home today. Her parents were off to see old friends and Kairi had to stay home.  
Roxas sat beside her on the couch and he folded his arms behind his head while watching the journal.  
Kairi wasn't really paying attention, and Roxas, he had to admit he wasn't really watching either.  
"Roxas?"  
"Yeah?"  
"I'm just as old as you are now"  
Roxas frowned and turned to her, his eyes narrow. "And what do you want to say with that?"  
Kairi bit her lip and looked away while crossing her arms.  
"Well?" Roxas demanded. Kairi never asked something trivial.  
"I just… well… you died when you were at my age" Kairi whispered, staring at the floor and hugging herself tighter.  
Roxas felt a pang in his chest. This could mean so much… and yet nothing…  
Maybe she was just scared to die, like so many others were.  
He turned her face to him with his right hand. "I'm not letting you die, you get that?"  
Kairi's eyes flashed to him and she sighed. She rested her face in his hand and closed her eyes. "I know"  
The warmth of her cheek burnt through his hand to his arm and it softened his tensed features.  
"Kairi, what's bothering you?"  
She took his hand in hers and sighed again. "I just wondered why you would decide someone should die… I don't think it's fair"  
His thumb stroke her cheek. "It _is_ not fair to decide if someone should live or die, but sometimes it's better if someone lives, and sometimes it's better for someone to die"  
She was silent for a while. "Why was it better for you to die, then?"  
It was 'once'.  
He stroke her cheek for the last time and then turned her, so she sat between his legs, her back against his chest.  
"Because, if I had been living, I would've made so many mistakes it would be impossible to make up for them, so I would go to hell if I finally died"  
His hands rested lightly on her waist and she intertwined her fingers with his.  
"I don't believe you were that… worse" She said, finally, slightly turning to look at him.  
He buried his face in her hair. "Then why am I here as guardian angel? You know the story better than me"  
"Everyone makes mistakes in their lives, that's only natural" Kairi said wisely. "I bet I'll have to return to earth to make up for my mistakes as well"  
Roxas couldn't stop himself and chuckled. "How many people did you kill before I became your protector?"  
"That's a bit exaggerated" Kairi remarked, while she looked at the television. Some gang had robbed a jewelry store.  
"You think so?" Roxas said, while he closed his eyes and let the strawberry scent of Kairi's hair comfort him.  
Kairi stayed quiet for a moment. "Well… I think so"  
Still wondering if it was better to tell her or not, he took a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak. "Would you still want to hear my story if you knew I… I kind of destroyed a lot of things?"  
"Yeah" Her answer came calm and steady, like she was answering automatically.  
"And would you still want to hear it if you knew I maybe don't even deserve a chance for heaven?"  
Kairi suddendly turned in his arms to look at him. Her eyes were wide with concern. "Roxas… I don't care what you did. What's done is done and you never hurt me or anyone else when you became a guardian, right?"  
Why did she have to be so nice and kind all the time? She should've stopped him from telling the story and yelled at him that if he killed people, he didn't deserve a life in heaven.  
"Still… if there are faults who can't be forgiven, what are those faults?"  
She frowned while folding her arms over his chest and resting her head upon it, still staring in his eyes.  
"Well… I would say that there are a lot of mistakes who can't be forgiven… but what's the limit? Is there a limit? What's there to discuss about if you broke all the rules? Everyone should get the same chances, whatever they did"  
He smiled and he brought his hand up to stroke her hair. "You know, it's awfully scary that you know so much for a human… It makes me wonder _if _you are a human. It wouldn't surprise me if you are already a graduated angel"  
"Do you have exams for you guys?" Kairi asked with disbelief.  
Roxas chuckled again. "Nah. That's how we call the ones who have made up their mistakes or the ones who never had to be an angel, like I expect you to be"  
Kairi didn't comment on the last part of the sentence, but her frown deepened. "So… back onto your story… What exactly are you making up for?"  
He stared at her, at the soft, red strands brushing over her forehead and the big, bright blue pools of tenderness and love and the pale skin which made her eyes seem darker. His hand went up automatically and he let it rest against her cheek. "You sure you want to hear?"  
Kairi closed her eyes and rested her face against his hand. "I'm listening whenever you're ready"  
Which meant he wasn't getting away with this one.  
_

**Author's note:  
I know, I know. Jared Someone has written something about guardian angels as well.  
But as you can see, my story is different.  
Grammatical errors. I KNOW xD  
Anyway, Part two should be up within two months :D**

**Thanks for reading. Review if you like. **


	2. Part One And A Half

**Your Guardian Angel**

_Two – Shot_

_{Part One and A Half}_

Roxas sighed while considering his options. It was useless to lie and he knew he couldn't even manage to lie to her. So then, he decided, he had to tell her the truth. She wouldn't like it, but shoving that thought aside, he thought about the start. Where should he begin?  
"Well, since you're determined to hear it," He started hesitating. "I guess I can just begin with it and you can tell me to stop or to continue"  
"Why would I want you to stop?" Kairi said while snuggling into his chest. "I mean, that wouldn't be fair! First asking you to tell me, then telling you to stop"  
He chuckled. "I'm almost hundred percent sure you don't want to hear everything"  
He sighed again and started. "So, it actually all started when I was four. Before that, I'm sure I was just the same like you…"  
_

Little Roxas was playing with his small boat he made of a piece of paper while his mother watched over him. Or, maybe he was just on his own. Because his mother wasn't paying attention to him at all. She was very, and very angry with Roxas's dad and she needed her full attention to be angry.  
Larxene Scott hadn't been happy with her marriage. Luxord Scott was a gambler and he usually came home without money or food. And after promising her he would never do it again, it would be the same the other day.  
Larxene angrily knitted further. The scarf she was working on was far from done, but who cared?  
Could she kill her husband with a knitting needle? Pleasant thought, but it wouldn't be fair to Roxas. He needed a father, alive. But, who loved a guy like her husband? She must have been drunk while marrying him!  
Her blonde eyebrows furrowed together above her green eyes and she nearly missed the sound of the door opening.  
Luxord was angry as well. He had lost again with gambling and he had no money left. Larxene would be pissed and Roxas would cry, giving him that nasty headache. Was there any way to get rid of that boy? If there was, he would take the chance with both hands.  
"Let me guess, no money?" Larxene's icy voice slid through the clouds in his head.  
Luxord frowned. "No money indeed"  
"Is that all you can give me?" Larxene suddendly shouted, while throwing her work on the ground.  
Roxas stared at his parents in horror. This wasn't new for him, but his mother's reaction _was_ a bit odd today…  
"Well, what did _you _do to get money today? Let _me _guess, nothing at all?" Luxord growled in return.  
"I'm not wasting our money on gambling!" Larxene shrieked while clenching her hands into fists.  
And Luxord took a step forward, and his hand shot out and he slapped his wife across her face.  
Larxene let out a growl of rage and started to hit him wherever she could reach.  
Tears streamed over Roxas's face while he tried to get in between his parents.  
"Mommy! Daddy! Stop! Stop!"  
Suddendly all the attention in the room shifted to the little boy.  
"Roxas…" Luxord said, thoughtful.  
Larxene hissed. "Are you going to learn him how to waste money as well?"  
Luxord snorted. "Nope. I'm going to make him work"  
"The boy is just four, you moron!"  
Roxas staggered back. He had no idea what was going to happen, but all he knew was that this meant nothing good…  
_

"They made you _work_? You were just four!" Kairi whispered, disgust clear in her voice.  
Roxas shrugged. "Well, that's not the hardest thing of it, you know. I was very obedient in the beginning, but the point is I got friends"  
"The wrong kind of friends?" Kairi was quick in understanding, making Roxas cringe. "Yeah. And I, being sad about my parents, didn't notice"  
_

"Hey!"  
Roxas frowned when he looked at the pile of papers he had to sell. He had sold three of them and there was still this huge pile left.  
"Hey, you there!"  
He sighed and hung the heavy bag over his shoulder. Better work hard, or he wouldn't even get food tonight. Daddy would get mad and yell at him. Mommy would be mad at daddy and yell at him. He didn't want his parents to yell at him or at each other.  
"You, you little one!"  
Roxas nearly fell through his knees because of the weight, but he managed to stay on his feet.  
"Sheesh, dude, ignoring ain't that nice! Hey, spiky, why ignore us?"  
Roxas furrowed his small eyebrows and listened to the shouter across the street. There weren't much people here and none of them had spiky hair… except for him.  
Was that boy talking to him?  
"HELLO? You there! Yeah, you, with the big bag and the blond hair!"  
Roxas was now quite sure they were talking to him and he turned.  
A group of boys just a few years older than him stood across the street.  
He looked around nervously and swallowed. "Yeah?"  
A boy dressed in black and with an eyepatch grinned at him. "What are you doing there all alone?"  
Roxas pushed up the bag which was slightly fallen from his shoulder. "I have to sell these papers…"  
He cocked his head to the side. "You want some…?"  
The boy shook his head and crinkled his nose. "No, thanks. I can't read. But you know what, just dump those papers and we will tell you some other ways to get lots of money"  
A couple of seconds later, the bag with the unsold papers lay on the street, the boy who tried to sell them was gone and a guardian angel high above there jerked out his hair in frustration.  
_

"So… what were those ways?" Roxas closed his eyes and tried to find an answer which wouldn't frighten her. But since he had decided to tell her the truth, there was no way out.  
"I think you know some of them… already" Roxas whispered while burying his face in her hair again.  
_

The boy with the eyepatch, Xigbar, smiled at the newcomer. "So, what's your name, dude?"  
"I'm R-Roxas" The small boy said, stuttering while looking at the rest of the group. One of the boys had spiky red hair and rough, green eyes. The boy grinned at Roxas and waved. "The name's Lea"  
Another boy, next to Lea and with short black hair, snorted. "My name's Pence and I'll give you this advice: Don't get too close with Lea"  
Roxas let out a nervous chuckle and earned a pat on his shoulder from a boy standing behind him. "Ah, well, let's say you shouldn't be spending much time with those idiots, bro. It's Ventus"  
"But you can call him Ven," A girl next to Ventus started. "and I'm Aqua, by the way"  
Xigbar sighed. "Oh boy, let's get over and done with introductions. If you want to introduce yourself, do it _after _we finished our stuff today"  
Aqua shivered. "But it's cold!" She complained.  
Roxas felt the gaze of every member of the group rest on him, like they expected him to say something.  
But more than that, he was a bit angry. He had to work the whole day just to pay for the gambling mistakes of his father, and _she _dared to complain about the cold?  
"Stay home and play with your dolls if you think it's cold!" Roxas sneered. "And let us boys do the real stuff!"  
Nearly everyone burst into laughter. Lea bent forward and held his stomach. "Hah, that's a good one, little one! Hey, Aqua, play mommy and daddy with Ventus?"  
Another laugh rolled through the group, but Aqua's aquamarine eyes were watering and Ventus' face was bright red while he scratched the back of his head.  
Roxas faked a laugh, so he wouldn't be left out, however he felt bad for insulting the nice girl.  
His guardian angel sighed and tried one more time to pull the boy away from the group.  
And failed.  
_

"What happened to that girl?" Kairi whispered, something like sympathy ringing through her voice.  
"Aqua Robinson?" Roxas murmured questioning. He could bring up the girl like he saw her yesterday. Her short, blue hair and her aquamarine eyes, her soft voice and her loyalty to Ventus.  
"She got together with Ventus Green… and they kind of quit with their business in the group"  
"You weren't really nice to her… but the way you speak about her… it's like you're talking about your sister…" Kairi stated softly.  
Roxas took a deep breath and pressed his eyes more shut. "She _was_ like a sister to me… but the insult I gave her in the beginning wasn't the only one I gave her… so I doubt she felt the same about me" He fell in a silence, the regret flaming up again, but with Kairi's warm head on his chest, and her listening to him softened the pain a bit, making it more bearable.  
Roxas' hands rested on Kairi's stomach, and Kairi covered his hands with her own. "Roxas?"  
He let out a sharp breath. "Well… at first, from my fourth to my tenth, I had to steal, threaten, trick money out of people and play the little boy without parents and no money… which worked out pretty good for a while…"  
"But… didn't you feel bad for the things you had done?" Kairi's pure voice interrupted, but with still the kind and nice voice she always had whenever she talked to him. Like she asked him what the weather would be tomorrow.  
"Kairi…" He whispered. "The first time you do things like that, it kind of bugs you… but when you're doing it constantly, even without thinking about it… it's becoming natural"  
Suddendly Kairi moved, startling him and he opened his eyes to see that Kairi had turned in his arms again. Her eyes watched him with pity and sadness while she placed her hands on his chest. "But now it's hurting you!" She said indignant, like someone had done something bad to him.  
Carefully, he raised his hand and let it rest against her cheek, not wanting it to be natural. He wanted it to be the first time forever. "Kairi," He said again while smiling slightly at her. "If it didn't hurt me, I would've gone to hell the first instance… and while taking care of you, making sure you are okay, I can make up for everything. Maybe not really everything … maybe I will protect humans my whole afterlife… but don't get me wrong, if that's what I have to do to make up… I will do it"  
Kairi frowned and folded her arms and rested them on his chest. Then, slowly, without losing eye contact with him, she let her head rest on her arms.  
"Please continue?"  
Roxas leaned down until his forehead rested against hers and closed his eyes once more.  
"Well… when I became eleven, I had to do something else"  
_

"Roxas!" Luxord shouted at the door of his son's room. "Get up! You need to sell papers!"  
Roxas snorted and buried his face in his pillow. "Shut up! I'm sleeping"  
"Well, wake up then!"  
Roxas just ignored his father, like Xigbar told him to do. That would teach his father not to mess with him.  
And selling papers was just the biggest nonsense ever said.  
"_ROXAS!_" His father now roared. "GET UP! _NOW!_"  
Roxas just smirked in his pillow and closed his eyes again.  
Suddendly there was a softer voice, and his father stopped shouting and stomped away angrily.  
"Roxas?" It was Aqua, gently knocking on his door. "I think you should get up, because Xigbar wants to speak with you"  
Duty called. Roxas yawned and stretched himself out. "Coming!"  
When he came out, he rubbed at the back of his head. "So, what does he want from me?"  
Aqua narrowed her eyes. "Ventus said he shouldn't give you the job, and I-"  
Roxas rolled with his eyes. "You agree with him because you want him to fu-"  
Aqua whacked him against his chest. "Shut up! Just get outside! Xigbar is waiting for you"  
Outside, the group of young kids, all eleven, twelve or thirteen, was waiting for them.  
Aqua walked immediately over to Ventus and he looked at her with concern. She just shook her head and sighed.  
Xigbar, the opposite, was grinning widely and folded his arms. "So, being lazy, huh?"  
Lea grunted annoyed. "You let us wait, Mr. Scottish Sissy!"  
Roxas raised his brow. "Just shut the fuck up, Lea!"  
Xigbar sighed. "Yeah, guys, shut up and let me and Roxas have a talk"  
Now Roxas turned anxious. He and Xigbar had never… private conversations. He had a nasty feeling about this…  
Xigbar led them to the city and took Roxas apart from the rest.  
"So, buddy, you're maybe wondering why I wanted to speak to you, don't ya?"  
Roxas furrowed his brows and crossed his arms. "Why do you want to speak to me? I have stuff to do"  
Xigbar chuckled. "Ah, good to see you so motivated, but listen up now"  
He leaned in a bit and shoved a black piece of metal in Roxas' direction. "Take this"  
Roxas took it automatically and his eyes widened when he recognized the piece of metal.  
"A…a g-gun?"  
Xigbar leaned back and grinned. "Yup. A gun"  
Roxas swallowed and stared at it. "Oh"  
He took a deep breath and extended the gun toward Xigbar. "Well, thanks for showing me, but-"  
Xigbar shook his head. "It's yours"  
Roxas cocked his head to the side. "And what am I supposed to do with it?"  
Xigbar sighed. "Really, Roxas? Just point the gun at someone, pull over the trigger and you know the rest of it"  
Roxas now staggered back. "That's killing!"  
Xigbar turned away. "There are some people who need to be killed. Just start with Terra Roberts"  
Roxas stared at the gun again and sighed. "Where can I find him?" He asked with a strangled voice.  
"In the square. Don't disappoint me, Roxas"  
_

"You killed him?" Kairi's voice was barely a murmur. "You actually killed someone?"  
Roxas swallowed, but kept his eyes closed. "I killed him" He murmured. "I ran away after I shot him… I didn't want to look at him, scared of what I had done"  
"He… used… you" Kairi said, emphasizing every word by letting a short silence fell between her words.  
Roxas opened his eyes and looked straight in big pools of bright blue. Anger was twinkling and a frown made them seem deeper.  
Frowning as well, he touched her lips. "You're angry with Xigbar Wilson?"  
Her frown deepened. "He just used the fact you… you"  
"Kairi… it doesn't really matter that he used me… it was me who did that stuff after all"  
"And you're telling me he didn't do those things?" Kairi was really angry with his leader of the past.  
Roxas laughed breathlessly. "I'm sure he did those much more than I did… and he still does them, I bet"  
"Then why did you die and not him?"  
Two years ago, he would agree with her, being angry with Xigbar, angry that he was still walking around, alive, and that he had to protect… her.  
But he had learned a lot in those two years. He was better off than Xigbar. Xigbar would go straight to hell, but he had a chance… he had… her.  
And, besides, if he was still alive, he would've never met her.  
To his horror, he said that aloud. "If I hadn't died, I would've never met you"  
The anger on Kairi's face was swept away in one second and he nearly drowned in the depths of her eyes.  
"And I have a chance to be… good again… Xigbar will go to hell, no doubt"  
Kairi's eyes roamed over his face and stopped by his eyes. "So… I'm your chance to live… above?"  
Roxas frowned, not liking that sentence. It made it sound he was using her. And maybe he was.  
"Not really… You're my chance to pay for the wrong things I did"  
Kairi closed her eyes and waited for him to continue.  
_

Roxas, now fifteen, was walking with the gang. Organization XIII. His arm hung casually around some girl's shoulder and he talked with Lea. "So, any news?"  
Lea snorted. "Nah, not much. You?"  
The girl had short, black hair and blue eyes and was called Xion Lewis.  
Lea looked closer at the girl. "Hey! Aren't you the ex of Riku Harrison?"  
The girl laughed shrilly. "Ugh, don't remind me of him! He's such a loser!"  
Roxas didn't really pay attention to the girl, he had more important stuff to talk about.  
"I'll drop you off at home and I'll see you tomorrow, 'kay?"  
The girl looked disappointed, but agreed with him. "Fine"  
After dropping Xion off, Roxas turned to Lea. "Hell, I've got some news! You remember poor old Ventus?"  
Lea rolled with his eyes. "Duh. He was a member of our gang!"  
"Dude, he is going to settle down somewhere with Aqua!"  
Lea gagged. "That's gross! Staying with _one _girl forever?"  
Roxas nodded furiously. "He just let his past go!"  
They fell into a silence.  
"Riku Harrison?"  
Lea looked up. "Huh? What?"  
Roxas wore a slight frown on his face. "Riku Harrison? Who the hell is that?"  
Lea laughed. "That's the former boyfriend of your girl, pal. He's actually hating you for taking his girl away"  
Roxas shrugged. "Well, I've had it with her already, so I think I'm gonna break up with her tomorrow. She's boring me"  
Lea grinned widely. "Maybe you should try Olette Smith?"  
Roxas folded his arms behind his head. "I did already. She wasn't bad"  
Lea laughed and whacked him on his back. "Easy there, mate, we were talking about Riku"  
Roxas nodded. "Indeed. Is that that silver-headed moron who gives me dead glares?"  
He earned a nod from his friend. "That's the guy"  
Roxas took out his gun and twirled it around his fingers. "Well, you know what? When I become sixteen, I'll take him out, just to keep him away from my girls"  
Lea chuckled. "Good idea, bro"  
_

Roxas looked away, to the television again, when he suddendly heard Kairi's chuckle.  
He looked down at her and saw her shaking her head. "I know you're handsome, but come on! You don't seem the type to change girlfriends like Taylor changes her clothes!"  
Roxas stared at her intensively. "I changed a lot after… meeting you" He said honestly.  
"What changed you then?" Kairi asked, her innocent eyes looking back at him with the same intensity.  
Roxas smiled and pushed a strand of her hair behind her ear. "I told you it was very frustrating that you were so nice and kind to everyone. I was hoping for a girl who made lots of mistakes, so I would feel better… but having you means I have to face every little thing I did wrong"  
Kairi looked down. "I'm sorry"  
"But that's great, Kairi! It's great you can show me how I was supposed to live!" Roxas said defensively. "I finally know what exactly I did wrong! This is why I have to protect! So I can understand what I did wrong!"  
"Did you kill that Riku?"  
Roxas sighed. "No"  
Kairi's eyes lit up. "So you began to see that you were doing things wrong?"  
Roxas laughed again. "No"  
Kairi looked confused now. "But why-?"  
"The guy killed me first"  
Kairi suddendly shot up and stared at him. "He _killed _you?"  
Roxas, startled by her sudden movement, got up as well and tried to search for answers in her eyes. "Kairi, he wasn't like me. It was my fault he killed me!"  
"But, Roxas, he… he…"  
Roxas moved closer to Kairi and wrapped her back against his chest. "Kairi, when he killed me, I started again! It's not that bad that he killed me!"  
Kairi wrapped her arms around his neck and shivered once. "I just don't want to imagine you… dead"  
Roxas gently pulled her closer. "Well, actually, I am still dead"  
She shook her head. "I just don't want to imagine that light in your eyes going out… that's just… awful"  
He trailed his hand from shoulders to her waist. "Well… I guess that's the last chapter of my story…"  
_

"That's all you've got?" Roxas yelled at Riku, who stood in front of him. "Is this how you're going to end this? Running away like a coward?"  
His arm was bleeding, but it wasn't a serious injury, he told himself. He had to fix it up later, after killing this guy.  
This went all very different than he had planned it. He wanted to surprise Riku on his way to his training and then to kill him.  
But his guardian angel knew there wasn't a way out. Roxas would never change in his life. So, he wasn't going to step in between things and stared gloomily at the scene beneath him.  
Riku looked at him, his eyes shimmering with hatred, trying to decide if he should escape or finish him off.  
Suddenly Riku came closer and he hovered over Roxas. "I-I'm sorry… did I hurt you?"  
Roxas gritted his teeth. Blood was spilling from his arm, and the asshole dared to ask if it hurt?  
That would breaking his pride up. "No"  
Stubbornly as he was, he stood up and glared angrily at Riku. "Well, you're doing something?"  
Riku stepped back, a flash of fright in his eyes. "I-I didn't mean to-"  
He had more things to do and his arm _did _hurt. Time to end it. He reached in his pocket, took out his gun and pointed it at Riku.  
But suddendly his guardian angel closed his eyes and made the hurt of Roxas' arm flame up like someone stabbed him there again.  
Roxas clutched his arm in pain and hissed through his already gritted teeth. "You bastard!" He managed to growl.  
Roxas tried to take deep breaths and looked up, seeing the angry, aquamarine shimmering under the furrowed silver eyebrows.  
_

"Well, that's it, I guess" Roxas said, stroking Kairi's back one more time and let her go.  
Kairi looked at him and cocked her head to the side. "It still doesn't change anything for me"  
Roxas stood up and stretched himself out. "But for me, it does"  
"What do you mean with that?" Kairi said, suspicion clear in her voice.  
Roxas turned around to face her and folded his arms behind his head. "I feel a lot better after telling you… so thank you…" He smiled at her. "Again"  
Kairi smiled back at him. "You're wel-"  
"Kairi, who are you talking too?"  
Axel stood in the doorway, frowning and he crossed his arms.  
Kairi blinked twice and frowned as well. Roxas, who was always able to make up excuses, put her cell phone in her hand and leaned down to whisper in her ear. "Just tell him you were calling with Taylor, but that he startled you, so you hung up"  
Kairi quickly showed her father her cell phone. "I was calling with Taylor, but you scared me while barging in like that"  
Her father frowned in confusion, but then smiled at her. "Sorry, Kai"  
Kairi smiled back and put her cell phone in her pocket, but she kept looking at her father. Roxas took that opportunity to sit down in the chair and watched the situation in front of him.  
Suddendly her father walked in and let himself drop on the couch. "I remember sitting here every night… telling you the story again…"  
Kairi smiled deviously. "Which story?"  
Her father laughed and Kairi sat down on the floor in front of him. "You were so cute with those pigtails of yours"  
Kairi blushed in embarrassment. "Da-ad!"  
Axel threw his hands up in the air. "Relax, it's just the truth"  
"Say dad… there's one thing you never told me…"  
Axel leaned forward and leaned his elbows on his knees. "Tell me"  
Kairi frowned and then looked up. "You never said there was a chance to actually _meet _your guardian angel!"  
Roxas chuckled gently and leaned back in the chair, his eyes never leaving Kairi.  
Axel laughed again. "But honey, the story is just a legend! I can only tell you what I heard when I was younger!"  
Kairi smiled a bit uneasy and nodded. "Yeah, true…"  
Axel raised his brows. "You don't want me to tell the story again?"  
Kairi let herself fall down on her back. "Heh, I think I heard it so much that _I _can be the one who tells _you _the story, dad"  
Axel scoffed while leaning back in the couch. "Tsh. I still think I can do it better than you"  
Kairi laughed and got up. "Fine, dad, fine. I'm giving up, you're still better than me"  
She walked over to the door and turned to flash her father one last smile. "I'm going upstairs"  
Her father nodded and waved once. Roxas got up and walked over to Kairi, who waited for him in the doorway. She closed the door and then looked at him. He looked back and felt a small smile grow on his face. She smiled back and took his hand while getting to the stairs.  
He sighed with content and gave her hand a little squeeze.  
Suddendly Sora appeared in the back of his mind. _You know what happens when you're falling in love with her_, _don't you?  
_He took a short breath and let the warmth go. There was a flicker of pain in Kairi's eyes, but it was gone the next moment… it might have been his imagination…  
_What am I thinking? Me and her are not supposed to be… to be together… it's just not right…  
__

Days went on, and the summer was getting closer.  
Kairi sighed while turning in her bed again. It was way too hot to sleep and her mind was way too full.  
"You can't sleep?"  
Kairi sat up and rubbed her forehead. "It's way too hot to sleep right now" She didn't say that her mind was filled with other things. Like him, for example.  
Roxas watched her, and frowned slightly. "You don't think you have a fever, do you?"  
She shook her head. "Can't you feel the warmth of the summer getting closer?"  
Kairi pushed the blankets off her and quietly came out of bed and made her way over to her window.  
She could feel his eyes burning on her back, but she didn't turn to check.  
So silent as possible, she opened the window and felt the cool wind blowing in her face. Sighing with relief, she closed her eyes and rested her head against the frame of the window.  
Suddendly she felt a cool arm around her waist and she heard the window close.  
She opened her eyes and caught Roxas, one arm wrapped around her waist, the other one closing the window.  
"What are you-" She whispered, before he laid his finger on her lips.  
"You made me realize my skin is always cold… so, because you think it's hot..?"  
He moved his finger to the side of her face and cupped her face in his hand. "Better?"  
This was way better than the wind. Not only because his skin was colder than the wind, he was Roxas as well.  
"Thanks" She murmured, closing her eyes again.  
A sudden question came in her mind and she wondered if she could ask that one aloud. "Roxas?"  
"Hm?"  
"What would you have done when you met me while you were still alive?"  
He didn't answer for a while, but he suddendly chuckled. "I always went out with pretty girls with no brains, you know… and well, you _are _pretty, but you're way too clever in comparing to them. But I think I would have tried for you… after a few years"  
Kairi felt a small smile playing around her lips. "When there weren't any other girls anymore, you mean?"  
She felt his thumb stroking her cheek and it let a burning trail on her cheek. "Nah, way earlier"  
"When we would've met at school or something like that, would you like me like you do now?" Roxas suddendly asked, sounding curious, however his voice was playful.  
Kairi leaned more into the coolness of his hand and thought about it.  
There were boys she had liked, but not the way she loved Roxas. And he had something she would always fall for, no matter if he was like this or like he was in his living life.  
"Yes"  
His thumb led another trail, leaving her cheek burning and flaming. "Hmm…" He said thoughtful, still stroking her cheek.  
They fell in a silence and she felt herself drifting off. She fought her tiredness and won for a while.  
"Roxas?"  
"I thought you were sleeping already"  
"I can't fall asleep while I'm standing" She lied easily. She opened her eyes and saw Roxas smiling at her. "Why didn't you say that in the first place?"  
She shrugged. "Didn't really matter"  
He chuckled and sighed. "So, what did you want to ask?"  
"Are there any rules for you guys?"  
Roxas froze and his eyes dashed between hers. "What's the reason for that question?"  
She closed her eyes again and shook her head. "I don't know… Maybe because I've grown up with the idea there are rules for everything" Kairi opened her eyes once more to check his reaction.  
He relaxed and cocked his head to the side. "There _are_ rules…"  
She waited for the rest, but it didn't come. "Well?"  
"And I don't think it really matters" He said, a devious smile growing on his face.  
Kairi stared at him, narrowing her eyes. "Fine. I can fall asleep while standing, but I don't want to fall asleep"  
He stroke her cheek again. "Why not?"  
She frowned and thought of an answer, however she knew already what it would be. "Well... I don't want to… to say goodbye to you"  
He frowned. "What do you mean?"  
She looked at him, a bit desperate. "What if I get run over by a car tomorrow, or… get struck by lightning? What if you can't save me?"  
Roxas' frown deepened and his mouth became a thin line. "I _will _save you. No matter what"  
Kairi shook her head and avoided his eyes. "_If _you can't save me… we'll maybe never meet again"  
"Kairi, I-"  
She placed her hand over his mouth, preventing him to say something. "I don't want to miss you"  
She felt the hand cupping her face disappear and he removed her hand. "What happened to me won't happen to you!" He said confidently. "I won't put you in danger" He added more passionate.  
Kairi sighed. "But what if… what if you don't come back when you went out? What am I supposed to do then?"  
He suddendly pulled her toward him, pulling her against his cold body. His hands weren't so cold anymore.  
"I'm afraid I miss the point… but I _will _be there to save you and I _will _always come back to you"  
Kairi closed her eyes again and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I'm not scared to die," She started. "I just don't want to lose you… how short the moment without you may be"  
She buried her face in his neck. "Including a wasted night because I had to sleep" She muttered darkly.  
Roxas didn't say anything, just held her and his hand ran up and down her back.  
Again, she felt herself drifting off, but this time she lost the fight against her tiredness.  
She was sleeping away another night.  
_

Roxas felt her breathing getting slower and deeper, which meant she was falling asleep. A frown darkened his eyes. It wasn't getting any better. He had to admit he was hurting himself by trying to keep a distance between her and him, but he hadn't thought of her feelings.  
They were more than friends and he knew that perfectly. But Kairi had, unconsciously, told him she knew it too.  
Roxas felt Kairi shiver and murmur something unclear. He hated the coldness of his body. It was maybe comforting in the summertime, but when it became winter, when she would be already freezing, he wouldn't be able to keep her at the right temperature.  
He bent slightly forward and lifted her. Her head rested against his chest and her arm hung loosely next to her.  
He slowly made his way over to her bed, trying to avoid waking her up and settled him with her in his arms down on her bed.  
She curled up against him, her arm now wrapped around his shoulder and he pulled the blankets over her.  
She sighed his name in his neck and he felt a shiver ran through his spine. How could something so _wrong _feel so _right_?  
He had never been important in someone's life. His father disliked him and his mother, who hated his father, didn't like him because he was her husband's son as well.  
The gang didn't like anyone. Ventus and Aqua had liked him, but when he became the heartless person he was before he met Kairi, they stayed away from him.  
Sora liked him as a friend, but Sora could live without him, if he had to.  
Kairi was the only one who… who couldn't live… without him.  
And, to be honest, she was the only one as well _he _couldn't do without.  
He sighed and leaned his head against the wall.  
There was no way out of this… the rules were clear and giving up on them was dangerous.  
_"So, I think there are a few rules to start with… Scott"  
__

"What are those?" Roxas asked, without looking up to Sora, but studied his shoes indeed.  
"You know you're invisible to everyone but the one you've to protect, right?" Sora said, while stretching his arms.  
Roxas sighed and looked up. "Yup. What's up with that fact?"  
Sora shrugged. "You can be visible, but they advise you not to do so, because that can lead to many complications"  
Roxas crossed his arms and raised his brow. "That's an advice, not a rule"  
Sora frowned and looked away. "Well, it's just something you aren't supposed to do, unless you have to do it in order to keep the person you have to protect alive"  
He ran his hand through his hair and blew a strand away. "Ah, well, and of course, you'll have to do everything in your might to keep the person you protect alive"  
Roxas snorted. "What about _my _guardian angel? He just slacked off?"  
Sora looked back at him, his glare ice cold. "Nobody here just slacks off, Roxas"  
Roxas, not intimidated by the stare, shrugged it off. "Just wondering, Spiky"  
Sora rolled with his eyes and turned away. "Next, the person you protect, is usually the opposite gender…"  
"And that's because…?"  
"It's easier to start with. You won't be really jealous… because jealousy isn't a good feeling… and you're supposed to improve your behavior to become good, you see"  
Roxas let out a breath. "Fine. Next?"  
"Thus, there might be chance you fall in love with the one you protect…"  
Roxas snorted and chuckled darkly. "Who will fall in love with those damned humans? That's just stupid! I've never been in love before, so I won't fall in love. Period"  
Sora shrugged. "If you think so… it has happened before"  
"Next?"  
"I wasn't finished yet, Scott"  
Roxas sighed annoyed and turned away as well. "Continue then"  
"If things grow serious… you'll form a bond with her… or him, whatever is the case"  
"I'm not gay"  
Sora chuckled. "I wasn't assuming that, but who knows? Things are getting weird sometimes"  
"Continue" Roxas' voice was hard, uninterested.  
"Well, so, if you have formed a bond with her, you can't live without her… never again"  
Roxas tapped impatiently on the floor with his foot. "Interesting. So what? She'll die, if it's not that day, it's the tomorrow after that"  
Sora frowned. "True. That's why she won't get older if you formed that bond. You actually destroy her life by forming that bond with her… well, not really _destroy_ her life… you're taking away the living life she could've lived… because she won't be able to live without you as well… she needs to be with you all the time and that means being with other people but without you is impossible"  
Roxas rolled his eyes once more. "Really, Sora? And what's actually making it official you're bonded?"  
Sora shrugged. "I'm not sure. I heard kissing is making the bond, but someone said she has to be pregnant," Sora scratched the back of his head. "But I don't believe Cloud, actually"  
"So, when do you find out you've formed a bond with her? Wait, you know what? Never mind. I don't care"  
Sora ignored his last comment and tapped his chin with his finger. "Well… they say you have a craving for the person you have to protect… kind of like you want her to be yours, only yours… and kissing her is kind of unavoidable"  
"Is this one of the biggest rules or something?" Roxas grumbled.  
Sora grinned. "Kind of. It's the only one with the most consequences, you see"  
"Oh… and the next one?"  
"That's pretty much it… except for the fact you have to make sure the one you're protecting doesn't tell others about guardian angels. That's kind of… stupid. Then the whole world knows about us and things will get unbelievable difficult"  
Roxas nodded once and yawned. "That's all?"  
Sora raised a brow. "That's pretty much, I think"  
Roxas folded his arms behind his head. "Ah, well… let's get over and done with this then"  
"You need practice, Roxas" Sora said with a smile. "If we let you protect someone now, the amount of people dying will increase from ten to ten million"  
_

_I've never been in love before, so I won't fall in love. Period._

Roxas closed his eyes and felt a bitter smile grow on his face. He had fallen in love. He was about to break one of the rules. But yet, he was still so close to just do it right, for once. All he had to do was to get a certain distance between him and Kairi.  
Maybe if there would come a boy in her life who would deserve her…  
Roxas snorted, already annoyed with the unknown boy. There was nearly nobody who deserved Kairi. He had to be incredibly good to deserve her.  
Kairi turned in her sleep and murmured something against his chest.  
Roxas smiled down at her and stroke her hair. _Including a wasted night because I had to sleep.  
_He shivered. She was maybe a lot quicker than him in realizing that they were both falling for the other. Hard.  
He realized he had hoped to create a distance between them while telling his story. Hoping she would dislike him a bit, so their "relation" would fall back to the usual friendship.  
He was sure that whatever you would call the way they were in now was really strong. Maybe a bit _too _strong.  
And, admitting he was being selfish again, he knew he wanted her to be his forever. His after-life wouldn't be anything good without her.  
They were already too far… the first steps of the bond had been made… it was all up to him to decide to let her go or to complete the bond.  
There was no way between. It was the one or the other.  
He had no idea where he wanted to lead them both. He wanted her and he wanted to let her go.  
_I want her to be alive… and to be happy._  
But what if the only way to let her be happy was to complete the bond?  
Roxas sighed and stared at her face. Her relaxed features and her red hair, slightly hanging in front of her eyes. Breaths went in and out through her parted lips and her pale skin made her nearly glow.  
He rested the back of his hand against her cheek, feeling the warmth once again.  
It was time to talk to Sora again.  
Just when he wanted to get up, the murmurs of Kairi got clearer and he froze in pace.  
_

She was walking alone through a weird landscape. It was like she was walking on clouds, but there were trees and there was a river, streaming next to her.  
She shivered and looked around, trying to look for something familiar.  
"Where am I?" She asked nobody in particular.  
"Where do you think you are?" A gentle, kind and calm voice replied.  
She turned and saw a boy with spiky brown hair and bright blue eyes, standing behind her, arms crossed and smiling gently at her.  
She swallowed and hugged herself, shivering again. "I don't know… it seems like a forest… but it's like I'm in walking on the clouds as well"  
The boy smiled at her and walked a bit closer. "What are you looking for?"  
The answer shot in her head like she had known it all along. "I'm looking for Roxas"  
The boy's smile fell. "Roxas Scott?"  
She nodded enthusiastically. "That's him! You know where he is?"  
The boy frowned. "He's protecting someone…"  
Kairi narrowed her eyes. "He was protecting me, right?"  
The boy sighed and dropped his eyes to the floor. "Kairi… no longer"  
It hit her like a fire swallowed its victims. She brought up her hand to feel her chest. Her heart still beated, only a bit faster. "My heart… still beats" She murmured.  
The boy sighed again. "If you lived your life like you should live, you don't need to become a guardian, like-"  
"Roxas told me…" She finished his sentence, feeling immensely sad.  
The boy extended his hand. "You know, I know your name's Kairi Clayworth, but you don't know mine… it's Sora… Sora Parker"  
She took his hand, but felt empty inside. "Is there any chance I can see him again?"  
Sora shook his head. "It's not likely. I know Roxas, but-"  
"You know him? How?" She felt really desperate. She didn't want to be a graduated angel if that meant she had to live without him.  
"I was the one who sent him to heaven" Sora explained. "And I'm his friend"  
She felt her eyes water, but she didn't care. She didn't want to be up here. She had to go back!  
"So… I'll never see him again?" She said, feeling her eyes overflow.  
Sora sighed. "I'm afraid so"  
She started to tremble and was on the verge of breaking down when Sora wrapped his arm around her shoulder. "Don't cry… it's okay… it's gonna be okay…"  
She shook her head fiercely. "It's not! It's not when he's there and I… When I'm here!"  
"Do you believe in him?"  
She looked up in disbelief. "Of course I do!"  
"Then believe in him. Maybe it'll lead him to you, one day"  
"When's that?"  
Sora let her go and shrugged. "Could be tomorrow, but could be the end of the days as well…"  
Kairi felt her breathing froze in her throat and she couldn't breathe. 'The end of the days'? That was eternity! She closed her eyes and tried to take a deep breath, but everything had stopped, like she was frozen until Roxas would come back to melt the ice around her heart.  
And that would maybe take an eternity…  
Without him.  
_

She gasped and woke up in worried blue. He was still with her.  
It didn't take her long to realize she had dreamed, but that her dream was predicting a possible future as well.  
"Kairi?"  
She reacted to his voice immediately and wrapped her arms around him fiercely, as if this was the last time she could do it.  
Maybe this _was _the last time. And she had to say goodbye now before it was too late.  
"Goodbye…" She said, finally saying it. If her end would come unexpected, she had said it, so she wouldn't regret that in the lonely fields of heaven. Beautiful, but terrible.  
"Where are you going?" His voice was growing upset and it became higher.  
She let him go and wiped the wetness from her eyes and sniffed once. "Just in case"  
Suddendly Roxas' hands were cupping her face and he forced her to look at him, the depths of his eyes flickering angry. "I'm not letting you go anywhere without you telling me what's all of this about!"  
Her eyes started watering again and his eyes softened. His thumb caught the first tear and he sighed. "I'm sorry…" He murmured. "But what happened?"  
She shook her head and dropped her eyes to the floor.  
Roxas forced her to look at him again and his eyes were darting between hers. "You suddendly started to talk in your sleep again… but I couldn't catch much of it, though…"  
She shook her head again. "It was just a dream… just a dream…"  
Kairi took a deep breath and touched his cheek. "But you're still here…" She murmured. "and I wonder when the time has come that'll be the dream…"  
Roxas frowned and let her go. "What do you mean?"  
"In my dream… I was there… alone… and suddendly this boy showed up… what was his name again?" Kairi tried to remember the boy's name. "Sora Parker, I believe. He said there was a big chance you would never come back… I was… dead, I think, but my heart was still working… and Sora… he said he was the one who sent you to heaven…"  
Roxas' face was hidden under the strands of his hair. She could only see his lips, pressed together in a thin line.  
"But it's just a dream, right?" She asked, growing scared when he didn't answer immediately.  
"Sora Parker…" He murmured. "Was indeed the one who sent me to heaven… indirectly to you…"  
"So it's true?" Her voice was a few octaves higher. "I'm going to end up there one day, all alone?" Her voice broke at the end and she lowered her eyes.  
That was probably why Roxas' actions were so quick she couldn't follow him. In a second he had his arms wrapped around her and his face was buried in her neck, his breath coming in sharp breaths. "No. Yes. It all depends on what's going to happen…"  
She took a deep breath and tried to steady her voice. "What are you talking about? What's going to happen?"  
"It all depends on what we choose… but what's right to do and what's wrong to do? Is it wrong to let you live your deserved after-life if you die? Or is it right to be selfish and tie you to my side? Or is it just the other way around?"  
"Please," She managed to whisper. "Be selfish… don't let me end up there without you… please…"  
He looked at her, torn. "I-I…"  
Roxas leaned back and still stared at her. "I just…"  
His eyes started to flame and he cupped her face in his hands. Slowly and still hesitating, he leaned closer.  
Her heart raced and she felt her eyes close when he got close.  
When she felt his cool breath on her lips, her breathing sped up and her heart seemed to stop.  
Suddendly she felt him sigh and she felt his cold thumb on her lips. "Don't worry… it's not your time yet… we have time enough to decide what we're going to do"  
"You promise?" She whispered, knowing that if she would open her eyes he would see the same disappointment as the one twirling inside her head and her heart.  
"I promise"  
"You promise me to always come back to me?"  
He was silent for a while and she felt her heart nearly shatter.  
"I promise"  
She sighed with relief and opened her eyes to look at him.  
"Thank you"  
He looked back, his gaze tense, but he said nothing.  
Kairi looked through her room, and her computer caught her eye. Maybe her dad wasn't the only one beside her and Roxas who knew the story. Maybe the legend was well-known somewhere far away…  
"Kairi"  
She returned her gaze to him, but he wasn't looking at her. "I need to go see someone…"  
She frowned and took a shaky breath. "I guess I can visit Taylor while you're… you're…." She swallowed. "Gone…" She added with a sigh.  
Roxas frowned as well now and he touched her cheek for a second. "Don't get in trouble while I'm off, okay?"  
She nodded, but averted her gaze to the floor.  
"Promised?"  
Kairi looked up at him and smiled vaguely. "Promised" She whispered.  
He smiled back at her for a second and opened her window, flashed his eyes to hers once more and jumped.  
Kairi closed her eyes and sighed. "Promised" She repeated sadly.  
Her gaze fell back to the computer again.  
She hesitated for a second and decided to take the chance.  
_

Roxas didn't walk to Taylor's house. He ran the way, nearly tripping over his feet, trying to get to Sora as fast as possible. _"Be selfish… don't let me end up there without you… please…"  
_He arrived at Taylor's house a couple of minutes later. "SORA!" He yelled at the top of his lungs. "SORA!"  
"DUDE! STOP YELLING!" Sora whispered furiously when he rolled out the house. "The humans could almost hear you!"  
Roxas trembled. "Please… I want to speak with you"  
Sora paled and took a step back. "What happened? Kairi- She… she didn't die, did she?"  
Now it was Roxas' turn to pale. "What? But… but when I left the house, she was fine!" _"Goodbye… Just in case"_  
There fell a silence and Roxas nearly shot back to Kairi's house, but Sora grabbed him at his collar. "Take it easy, bro! I wondered why you were here… and you look like you're filled with adrenaline, so I guessed the worst"  
Roxas sighed with relief and closed his eyes. "Don't ever startle me like that, okay?"  
Sora grinned. "Deal. But what are you here for again?"  
He led the way to the roof of the house. Roxas let himself fall down. "Well… it _is _about Kairi…"  
"Oh. What's wrong with her?"  
Roxas hugged his knees. "Nothing's _wrong _with her… it's just… she was acting weird lately"  
"Weird? In what way?"  
Roxas sighed. "I told her about who I was"  
Sora made a soft noise in the back of his throat. "Yikes, dude… what the hell were you thinking? Humans don't like stories like yours"  
Roxas just laughed a nervous laugh. "She took it all way better than I expected… actually… she didn't really mind… Nothing changed… except maybe that… we were closer than before"  
"In what way?" His friend asked alarmed.  
"It became so easy, Sora!" He said defensively. "Just… just to _touch _her… even for two seconds…"  
Sora frowned. "Roxas…"  
He threw up his hands in the air in defeat. "I know, I know… but I can't hold it back. It craves for her…" Roxas touched his chest with one of his hands and let his hand rest on the place his heart should be beating. "_I _crave for her…" He murmured.  
"So… what happened?"  
"Well, you know, this night, she couldn't fall asleep…" Roxas started, but Sora interrupted. "Yeah, Taylor couldn't fall asleep as well. She said she could feel summer knocking on the door"  
Roxas sighed. "I know. Kairi said something along those lines as well…"  
Sora stared at his friend, who let his head rest on his arms and shivered. "She went out of bed to open the window and I realized I couldn't feel the heat because my skin is always freezing… and that maybe I could cool her down a bit…"  
Roxas took a shaky breath and looked up at his friend. "I didn't want to, Sora! I didn't know what happened or what came over me… All I know is that one minute I realize about my body temperature, and the next moment my arm is wrapped around her waist! I don't know why I couldn't control myself, but it just happened!"  
"Well… that's not a real big mistake…" Sora said thoughtful. "Yet" He added when he saw Roxas's face lit up. "Did anything else happen after that?"  
Roxas frowned and looked away. "We talked again. About… how things would go when I was alive and we met in school for example… we were both pretty sure nothing would change… and then she asked me about our rules"  
Sora chuckled. "She's pretty smart, isn't she?"  
Roxas let out a short breath. "You would nearly say she knows more than all the guardian angels together…"  
Sora rolled with his eyes. "Well, _I _doubt that… but, go on"  
"And then… she… she… we… we began talking about… what would happen if she…" Roxas pressed his eyes shut and nearly hissed the word through his gritted teeth. "_died_"  
He calmed himself down and took a deep breath. "And what would happen if I wouldn't return…"  
"Oh"  
Roxas shivered again. "She told me, unconsciously, of course, that we've made the basic for… for the _bond_…"  
"Hmmm…" Sora tapped his chin. "And what happened next?"  
"She fell asleep and I… started thinking about it all… and decided I should come to you and ask you what to do…"  
"So… here you are…?"  
Roxas shook his head and balled his fist while looking away. "Not? What held you back? Why are you here then?" Sora asked confused.  
Roxas made a tormented sound in the back of his throat. "She started talking in her sleep" He murmured, a shiver ran over his body, making him tremble.  
"What did she say?" Sora was getting more alarmed.  
"I couldn't understand much of it… only that whatever she dreamt was… hurting her"  
Roxas turned his gaze to his feet. "I couldn't do a thing than just watch and listen to some words I could make out…"  
"So… what happened when she woke up?"  
Roxas buried his face in his arms and made another tormented noise. "She woke up and hugged me… saying… saying _goodbye_!"  
"Why?"  
"I wondered why she said that as well… but I was a bit more panicked because she was… crying… and I asked her where she thought she was going…"  
Roxas shivered again. "She said: '_Just in case_'"  
Sora gasped. "What? What's that girl thinking? That you're gonna let her die?"  
Another shiver ran through his body. "She said something vague… she said that I was still with her… but that she wondered when that would be the dream… I had no idea what she meant, but I was getting more concerned with every word she said"  
"Understandable… I don't get the point as well" Sora stated.  
Roxas shook his head. "When she told me, finally, about her dream… she said she was somewhere alone… and then you came in her dream"  
Sora was taken back. "Excuse me? She dreamt about _me_? We've never met!"  
Roxas frowned. "Don't you get it? She was somewhere alone… and she met you…?"  
Sora jumped up. "She dreamt she was in the Woods Before Heaven?"  
Roxas frown deepened and he hissed softly. "Precisely"  
"And then?"  
"You told her I would never come back to her and that you were the one who sent me to heaven… and she… asked me if her dream would come true… that she would be there someday alone"  
Roxas clenched his fist. "And again, I showed my lack of control and… and… _needed _her close. I told her it all depended on what we would choose. And that I had no idea what was wrong or right… I said it could be wrong to let her live her deserved after-life and that it could be right for me to be selfish and just take her… but that it could, well, actually, I _know _it's otherwise"  
"What did she say?"  
"She told me to be selfish" He murmured and let his head fall onto his arms again.  
"She knows about the bond?"  
"No"  
Sora frowned and rubbed his arm. "Well… this sounds kind of serious, Roxas…"  
"Sora… I nearly kissed her"  
The boy froze and stared at his friend, who hadn't budged an inch. He sat there, hugging his knees and resting his head upon his arms.  
"You… nearly… _kissed…_ her?"  
Roxas made another tormented noise and let himself fall down on his back, his eyes pressed shut and his jaw tense.  
"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? She doesn't know about the consequences, but yet you just-"  
"It's not like that, Sora" Roxas said, his voice rough. "I was the one who nearly kissed her and I was the one who prevented that from happening as well"  
"Oh… sorry"  
"Doesn't matter…"  
They sat in silence, Sora watching Roxas and Roxas just laid flat on his back, arms folded under his head with closed eyes. He saw Kairi, patiently waiting for him to just close the remaining inches between his lips and hers. He groaned and got up, looking at Sora. "So… what am I gonna do?"  
Sora sighed. "I don't know, Roxas. Maybe the only good thing now is just to form that bond with her"  
"I'm not gonna be the one who destroys her life, Sora!"  
"Easy there! Nothing's going to happen very soon now, right?"  
Roxas closed his eyes again and shivered for the final time. "I'm not so sure about that…"  
He opened his eyes and looked at Roxas, a newborn light twirling in his eyes, fiercely and strong. "I _need _her, Sora… and the problem is she needs_ me_ as well"  
_

Kairi sat down behind her computer and turned the system on. Patiently waiting, she tapped with her fingers on the table. She felt guilty, like she did something sneaky, something Roxas wasn't allowed to know.  
She took a deep breath and shook that feeling off. The only thing she did was trying to find information about guardian angels and the ones they had to protect.  
Maybe there was someone who knew what was going on between her and Roxas.  
When the system was loaded, she let Internet appear and searched on 'guardian angels'.  
To her surprise, there were nearly ten million sites she could look at.  
"Wow…" She muttered. "This is going to take a while…"  
After a while, she found a very promising site, and her jaw dropped when she saw the story her father told her, but also a lot of other information only Roxas had spoken about.  
She remembered her question about the rules up there.  
It did startle her there was a page with 'Rules' on the site.  
Feeling sneaky and guilty again, she clicked on it and started to read.

_In the world of the guardian angels are a couple of rules everyone must follow.  
There's never been an angel who broke even one of the rules, and maybe that's because everyone's there to be 'good'. That means: 'don't break the rules', so they don't.  
The rules may seem like advices, but however they are, actually, they're still called 'rules'._

_Don't make yourself visible to anyone but the one you must protect and the ones from your friends. (It's only allowed when you really have to in order to rescue) _

_You must do everything what lies in your might to protect the person you've been assigned to._

_Starters have to begin with the opposite gender to avoid jealousy._

_If you fall in love with the one you're assigned too, and things grow serious between the two of you, you're forming a bond with that person by kissing._

_The bond can never be undone, so be aware the person you're assigned to won't get older and will be forever with you._

_If you have formed a bond, your job as guardian angel is over._

_Don't make the person you protect tell others about guardian angels._

Kairi noticed most of the rules were about that bond. She decided to look it up.  
She quickly found it and frowned while reading it.

_Guardian angels have been human before, so they still have some feelings, although they are not leading their life anymore.  
If an angel has feelings towards its boy/girl, and those feelings develop into something much stronger, the angel won't be able to live without that one. The same is for the person who's protected by the angel.  
If the guardian and the human kiss, their feelings will be creating a bond between them, which 'stops' the life of the human in some ways. The human won't be able to be without the angel and can't be living its former life, so the human won't get older and gives up its life on earth.  
The guardian angel won't be a graduated angel, but be a normal angel and live together with the human forever in a part of Heaven.  
The bond can never be undone and will only get stronger, so that's why most angels don't even think about kissing an human while having feelings for him/her._

Kairi was frozen in her chair. She realized she had feelings for Roxas, but she knew that for a while now. She was sure Roxas felt something, she didn't know how strong, though, for her too.  
She now realized Roxas had nearly bonded them by kissing her. And she realized now why he hadn't done that as well.  
Would she mind leaving her father and mother behind? What about Taylor?  
But wasn't missing Roxas worse than any of that?  
"I don't want to miss either of them all…" Kairi whispered, staring at the screen.  
Kairi furrowed her eyebrows and searched further for information, trying to avoid thinking further.  
She found out for example why Roxas' heart didn't beat and why some others had a beating heart again.  
After she had read the whole site, she shut the system of her computer down and let her head fall on her desk. "Oh boy…" She murmured.  
Maybe… if her parents knew where she was… and if Taylor knew it too… that she would be happy somewhere far beyond their reach… maybe it wasn't as worse as leaving without them knowing where she would be. Without them knowing she would be happy… wherever she would be.  
_Or is it right to be selfish and to tie you to my side?  
_Kairi heard her mother walk in the kitchen and took a sudden decision. If things would go the unexpected way… like her dream or like the moment nearly bonded them, she would have set her things straight.  
She stood up and nearly tripped her way downstairs. She took a deep breath, standing in front of the kitchen door and grabbed the doorknob. It was now or never.  
But…  
Roxas.  
She wasn't going to die soon. Roxas would do anything to prevent that from happening.  
And then there was that bond. Roxas had been startled by his actions, she could tell easily. She was sure he would be making sure it wasn't going to happen again.  
None of the two options were going to happen soon. So why the rush to tell her parents and worrying them while nothing was going to happen very soon?  
She sighed and let go of the doorknob.  
Maybe things just had to go the way they went.  
"Maybe… I should just let it go…" Kairi murmured and turned, stuck her hands in her pocket and walked to the front door. She would go to Taylor, like she told Roxas.  
There was time enough to think.  
_Or is it right to be selfish and to tie you to my side?  
__

Roxas' eyes were fixed on the road underneath them, patiently waiting. Sora sat beside him, laying flatly on his stomach, his face buried in his arms. "Dude… how long does it take for Kairi to come here?"  
"I guess she did something else before she would come here"  
"Like what? She really doesn't have a life beside hanging out with you"  
Roxas whacked Sora on the back of his head. "Shut up. Like you have a life" He grumbled.  
Sora didn't even move after the whack. "Like you have one" He replied dully.  
Light footsteps were heard on the pavement. Roxas immediately relaxed and sighed. "Ah… well, no matter what she did… she's here"  
Sora lifted his head from his arms and noticed a certain redhead walking through the street. Her hands were stuck in her pockets, her jacket loosely around her body and her eyebrows furrowed.  
"She doesn't seem so happy"  
"You're such a genius, Sora" Roxas stated sarcastically. "And that's why I want you to speak to her"  
Sora shot up. "You what?"  
"Talk to her. Doesn't matter what you say. Keep her busy"  
"What? Why?"  
Roxas rolled with his eyes. "I'm going home, checking whatever made her upset"  
Sora raised his brow. "Maybe she's just unhappy having _you _as her guardian angel"  
Roxas frowned. "Maybe you're not so far off the right answer…" He murmured.  
"Aww, come on, Roxas! I was kidding!"  
Roxas smiled vaguely and stared intensively at Kairi. "Take care of her" He said, and with that, he ran off.  
"Aye, sir"  
Sora looked down at the redhead and took a decision.  
"Well… time to meet in real life, Ms. Clayworth"  
_

Kairi was about to walk to Taylor's door when she heard a voice behind her. "She's not home, you know"  
Kairi turned with a flash, knowing it wasn't Roxas who spoke to her.  
She gasped and stumbled backwards. "_You!_" She managed to splutter out.  
It was that Roxas told him, but he still hadn't really an idea what he was like in her dream. Indicating to her gasp, it had been a detailed dream.  
"Hello, Kairi" No need to pretend he didn't know her name. She know his as well.  
Cards on the table.  
Her bright blue eyes narrowed as she crossed her arms. "Hello, Sora Parker"  
Autsh. She did know a lot. More than he actually wanted her to know.  
"So, how're you doing?"  
"Where's Roxas?" She demanded, her eyes flickering with something like anxiety.  
"Worried?" He teased her.  
Her jaw locked and she changed into a slightly defensive posture.  
Sora frowned when he realized she really _was_ worried.  
Maybe he had underestimated her feelings toward Roxas and otherwise.  
"He asked me to watch over you"  
Kairi relaxed a bit, but her eyes never left his. "Why?"  
_Talk to her. Doesn't matter what you say. Keep her busy.  
_"He needs to… find out something"  
"And that is?"  
"How he's gonna fill in his role now" Sora improvised, proud of the result. "Since you've becoming so close"  
To his surprise, Kairi blushed and backed away slightly. "What do you mean with 'filling in his role'?"  
Sora frowned. His sudden inspiration was gone and all there was left was the pretty girl of Roxas' and his empty mind.  
_Take care of her.  
_"How he's going to protect you now without getting more closer" Sora said uneasy, feeling slightly uncomfortable.  
_Talk to her. Doesn't matter what you say. Keep her busy.  
_And somehow, he had said the right thing.  
Kairi's eyes widened and she cocked her head to the side. "He's afraid of the bond?" She said to herself, but clearly enough for Sora to hear it. Who was shocked. Roxas told him she didn't knew about it.  
"How do you know about the bond?" Sora said, suspecting this girl knew a whole lot more than Roxas intended her to know.  
Kairi rubbed her arm. "He's scared of it, isn't he?"  
Sora thought for a moment. _Was _Roxas scared of the bond? Roxas had never been able to _love _a girl like he did now. He had never felt the overwhelming feeling of the feeling your heart belonged to someone else and hers to you.  
Sora felt a crash of pain stop his breathing for a moment. He threw that all away. He had thrown it all away with just lack of control.  
"Kairi…" Sora managed to whisper. "He's just not able to see that there's no way out for you both… he went too far already"  
As her eyes fixed on his face again, he walked closer and took her hand, to put it on the place her heart beat. "Can you feel your heartbeat?"  
She blinked a couple of times and she frowned confused. "I can"  
"Close your eyes"  
She did as she was told and closed her eyes.  
"Can you bring up Roxas?"  
"Of course I can" She stammered confused.  
"Bring him up then" He said calmly. He could feel her heartbeat through her hand and felt it sped up like she had to run a marathon.  
"I think this should say enough… to me, it does, in any case" Sora said to himself as he let her go.  
Kairi opened her eyes and looked at him. "He doesn't want to bond us, does he?" She said, sounding a bit sad.  
"You're sad about that?"  
Kairi let out a shaky breath and turned away. "No. Yes. I don't know. It's like he's… he's…" She choked on her words and let the last part of the sentence come out in a rush. "Like he's rejecting me"  
And suddendly it was like Sora was back in time, this time in the point of view of his girlfriend. Him being with another girl felt like he rejected her, she told him.  
And here Kairi was, feeling rejected because Roxas didn't want to bond. And maybe a bond didn't destroy things… maybe the bond was for her a sign Roxas didn't want to be without her too.  
Now, he understood why the others had put Roxas with Kairi.  
Kairi wasn't really meant for the living life, just as Roxas. But Roxas had… well, screwed his living life up and Kairi was living hers perfectly. But they both didn't have much friends and they were both, unconsciously, looking for each other their whole lives.  
But how to make Roxas see?  
"Listen… I think I know how you feel… but it's not me you have to convince"  
"I'm not trying to convince Roxas" She said, looking down. "I just want… you know what? Never mind… it sounds so selfish!" She looked up with fiery eyes. "Like Roxas said: 'Or is it right to be selfish and to tie you to my side?'. I didn't realize, but with agreeing with the rules of the bond, I'm being selfish too and I'm going to tie him to my side as well!" She rubbed her forehead with her hand. "And every story is clear: Don't be selfish, or bad things will happen! Don't be selfish, or others will completely hate you! Don't be selfish, it'll result in hatred! Selfish isn't good! And Roxas is here to improve his life, so why would I be the one to take that away, just because I want him, no matter how badly?"  
Sora was startled from her outburst. So this was what Roxas really meant with _'"You would nearly say she knows more than all the guardian angels together…"' _…  
And now he knew as well why Roxas was so angry about her in the first place… Roxas, who had been the bad guy in his life, and her, the one who lived her life… perfectly.  
But she knew Roxas needed her just as badly as she seemed to do. There wasn't a way out of this for them. They were headed into this direction to far. The way back had been destroyed.  
_Talk to her. Doesn't matter what you say. Keep her busy.  
_So Roxas didn't mind whatever he said? Then he would give her as much information as he could.  
Somehow, she reminded him of his girlfriend… and he didn't want to let her down again.  
"Kairi?"  
She raised her eyes. "Sorry" She murmured.  
He shook his head. "Nah. Actually, I guess you deserve some answers"  
Her eyes widened with surprise. "Really?"  
Sora smiled vaguely. She really did remind him of his girlfriend. Maybe a bit too much…  
He walked over to her and sat down beside her, gesturing her to do the same. She hesitantly sat down and waited.  
"So… what do you want to know?"  
"One of the rules say you have to keep a human from telling others about you guys… but am I allowed to tell my parents and Taylor?"  
"Taylor already knows…"  
Kairi frowned and suddendly she looked up at him. "_You_'re protecting Taylor!"  
Sora chuckled. "Didn't take you long to realize"  
She smiled. "Ah, well… so, just my parents then… My father already knows about you guys, but thinks it's a legend…"  
"Why do you want to tell them?" Sora wondered, also wondering what Roxas was doing right now.  
"Because, if me or Roxas ever make a mistake and we end up bonded, my parents know I'm happy somewhere beyond their reach. It will make them happier and me as well"  
Sora shivered. Kairi had thought too well about this. Maybe she was even more prepared than Roxas was, who was clinging onto some rules.  
"You've thought a lot about this… does Roxas know you're this… prepared?"  
She shook her head and laughed breathily. "I don't know, but he seemed kind of upset about it… so I guess he doesn't like to talk about it"  
"You know a lot for a human, you know?"  
Kairi twiddled her thumbs. "I don't know about that, though… I guess it's just thinking clearly. I don't make decisions without thinking about them"  
"What's your decision about Roxas?"  
"I want to break one rule before I break one together with Roxas…" She murmured. "I'm going to tell my parents that I'll be with my guardian angel if I'm suddendly gone one day. If it happens that Roxas or me slips up and things will go unexpectedly, I have taken care of my stuff here"  
Sora sighed. "Knowing Roxas, he'll start to accept it when you guys are already bonded… but before that happens, he will do everything in his might to stop that from happening"  
Kairi averted her gaze to the street. "So he doesn't want it to happen at all… but he knows I die once…"  
"So?"  
He realized that sounded harsh, because Kairi's eyes started to shimmer with tears, making them a lighter blue. "I'm sorry!" He quickly apologized. "That was harsh… sorry! I didn't mean to hurt you like that!"  
"But it's true… he doesn't really care… that's why he doesn't want to end up with me until eternity is over…"  
Sora frowned. "That's not what I meant, Kairi… Roxas _does _care about you… he actually cares a lot about you"  
"Because he's my guardian angel" Kairi whispered, trying to blink her tears away. "He's supposed to… and he's really trying to make up for his mistakes"  
Sora hesitantly wrapped an arm around her shoulder. "Still… you know, there's a lot more to us guardians than you think"  
"Like what?" Kairi said, flinching when he touched her. "You know, you're actually hot" She stated.  
Sora raised his brow at her and Kairi blushed a bright red. "I-I didn't mean t-that! I meant your body temperature!"  
Sora burst into laughter and removed his arm. "Sorry… I should've known it"  
Kairi smiled back at him, still hesitating. "I think I'm used to Roxas' body temperature… even winter is warm to me now"  
"Really? I thought every angel was just as warm as I am…"  
"Roxas' said he's cold because he's… he's… well… you know… dead…" Kairi said, choking on her last word.  
Sora laughed again. "Well, guess what? I'm dead too"  
She grimaced and hugged herself. "What is it with me that I'm mostly talking to dead people instead of living ones?"  
Sora grinned. "You know, I wouldn't know. Ask Roxas. He knows you better than I do"  
She shot him a death glare. "Why are you way… hotter than he is _in body temperature_?"  
Sora still grinned widely and Kairi rolled her eyes. "However he totally beats you if you're looking at your appearance"  
He laughed and pouted. "Aww, you sure you don't think I'm totally awesome?"  
Kairi shoved a few inches away from him. "Ugh. You're actually completely weird, if you really want to know"  
"Well, to go back to your former question… my heart beats again, so that may explain why I'm warmer than him. But still, I was also pretty warm in my living life, so I think that's something to think about as well"  
"There's so much to think about" Kairi muttered. "I doubt I'll ever find some answers to this situation"  
Sora wrapped his arm about her shoulder again. "You'll manage! Making me laugh is a gift, little Ms. Clayworth"  
Kairi frowned. "That doesn't explain why things go the way they go"  
Sora was about to give her a reply, but his eye caught a figure standing across the street, leaning against the wall, his blue eyes shimmering and burning.  
Roxas was back.  
And he definitely wasn't happy.  
"Well, guess I have to check on Taylor" Sora quickly said, letting go of Kairi and standing up. Kairi didn't move, but hugged her knees instead, her gaze at the pavement under her feet. "Tell Taylor I said hi" She whispered. "Guess she'll be with her crush of a lifetime" She smiled with sympathy. "I'm really glad they're finally going out"  
Sora smiled down at her, realized Roxas was standing across the street again and quickly jumped on the roof of the house. "Good luck with him, Kairi" He muttered. "He's not the easiest kind of person to work with"  
_

Roxas ran all the way back, however it seemed wrong to leave her behind with Sora.  
When he came into Kairi's room, he saw that she had used the computer very recently. Papers lay in a nice pile at one side of her desk and she had forgotten to turn off the screen.  
He frowned, feeling bad about looking in her history list, but decided it could maybe be justified if he wanted to help her with whatever troubled her.  
He started the computer and waited impatiently. When the computer was finally started, he went to Internet immediately and searched in her history list.  
On top of it stood a site he wished it didn't exist.  
But hell it did exist.  
He closed his eyes and clicked it.  
Roxas opened one eye and groaned in disapprove when he saw the site.  
Kairi had done some research and definitely knew all about him now.  
He looked at the subjects and felt his stomach twist. Everything she wanted to know, but he didn't wanted to tell her was there. Rules, little facts and… and…  
The bond.  
Roxas' eyes widened when he realized Kairi knew now how close they had been. She knew now everything… all the things she needed to know and everything he didn't want her to know.  
He closed the site and turned off the computer.  
What now?  
Roxas decided to just go back and act like nothing happened… except for the fact he would be more carefully now and maybe he could try to find out how much exactly she knew.  
He let the things behind like he had found them and jumped out of the window and ran the way back again.  
He decided he would just enter their conversation and take her with him and hear her out while they headed back.  
But when he arrived, jealousy stopped all his senses and he leaned back against the wall, eyes narrow and arms crossed, and watched the scene in front of him, able to hear every word.  
Sora's arm lay around Kairi's shoulder, but Kairi flinched, to his approve.  
"Like what?" Kairi said to something Roxas had missed. "You know, you're actually hot" She suddendly stated. Roxas felt something snap inside of him and he was ready to just… kill his friend.  
Sora raised his brow and Kairi's cheeks warmed up with the speed of lightning. "I-I didn't mean t-that! I meant your body temperature!"  
Roxas frowned. Maybe she really meant his body temperature…  
Sora burst into his famous laughter and removed his arm. "Sorry… I should've known it"  
Kairi smiled back at him, a bit hesitating. "I think I'm used to Roxas' body temperature… even winter is warm to me now"  
Roxas felt his frown deepen. That wasn't good at all… another reason to keep a literal distance between them.  
"Really? I thought every angel was just as warm as I am…" Sora said, not caring much.  
"Roxas' said he's cold because he's… he's… well… you know…"  
Roxas grimaced. He hated it to hear her struggling to admit they weren't supposed to meet.  
"Dead" Kairi finally finished, choking on the word.  
Roxas could strangle Sora for laughing again. "Well, guess what? I'm dead too"  
She grimaced and wrapped her arms around herself. Roxas felt a strong desire to run over at her and take her in his arms, but he held himself back, his frown deepening again. "What is it with me that I'm mostly talking to dead people instead of living ones?"  
Roxas felt a small smile curve his lips upwards. He had no idea why she preferred being with dead people instead of being with people who lived, like she did.  
Sora just grinned. "You know, I wouldn't know. Ask Roxas. He knows you better than I do"  
Roxas' smile fell and he sighed. Did he know her better? He started to understand her, but something around her was just too hard to figure out.  
To his surprise, she shot him a death glare. "Why are you way… hotter than he is _in body temperature_?" She asked, emphasizing the last part of the sentence. But he _did _understand this. Kairi wanted answers, and she didn't want to stray off the subject.  
Sora still grinned like he was going mad and Kairi rolled with her eyes. "However he totally beats you if you're looking at your appearance"  
Roxas felt another smile grow and he chuckled very softly. Kairi didn't really look at appearances. She looked at what was inside of you.  
Sora laughed and pouted. "Aww, you sure you don't think I'm totally awesome?"  
Roxas rolled with his eyes. Kairi wouldn't like that question.  
Like he expected, she didn't. She shoved a couple of inches away from him. "Ugh. You're actually completely weird, if you really want to know"  
Roxas smirked. _Take that, Sora. She's my girl. You no touchy.  
_"Well, to go back to your former question… my heart beats again, so that may explain why I'm warmer than him. But still, I was also pretty warm in my living life, so I think that's something to think about as well" Sora answered, seriously again.  
"There's so much to think about" Kairi muttered, sounding a bit sad, making Roxas shiver and ache to touch her again. "I doubt I'll ever find some answers to this situation"  
Roxas now really wanted to launch himself at her, but stayed in place, frowning in concentration.  
Sora wrapped his arm about her shoulder again, making the jealousy flame up again, because Sora was able to touch her and he wasn't. "You'll manage! Making me laugh is a gift, little Ms. Clayworth"  
Roxas gritted his teeth and shivered with anger this time. Why could Sora touch her without consequences and why was every time _he _touched her a mistake?  
Kairi frowned. "That doesn't explain why things go the way they go"  
Roxas felt the need to yank her away underneath Sora's arm and press her up against him. To feel her, to sense her… to- _STOP_!  
Sora opened his mouth to say something, but suddendly he made eye contact with Roxas, who saw his own reflection in Sora's big, shiny, blue eyes.  
"Well, guess I have to check on Taylor" Sora quickly said, letting go of Kairi and standing up. Kairi didn't move, but hugged her knees instead, her gaze at the pavement under her feet. Roxas ached to know what she was thinking about, but he sighed when he realized he would never really know.  
"Tell Taylor I said hi" She whispered. "Guess she'll be with her crush of a lifetime" She smiled with sympathy. Roxas grimaced again. Of course she was happy for Taylor. She always put others before herself. But, he thought to himself, _I_ place _her _above anything else. At least someone who thought _she _was the most important thing ever. "I'm really glad they're finally going out" Sora smiled at her and jumped to the roof of the house. Roxas didn't pay any attention to him afterwards. He silently joined Kairi and sat down beside her. "Kairi?" Damnit. His voice still sounded upset.  
Kairi's head shot up and for a second she just stared at him before she threw her arms around his neck. "Roxas!"  
He closed his eyes and shivered, but he controlled the trembling and kept it within his body.  
Control. The key to success.  
He told himself he wasn't going to hug her back, step one to put distance between them. He gritted his teeth as he tried to control both the trembling and the desire to hug her.  
He lost to his own feelings and wrapped his arms tightly around her. Goosebumps appeared on her arms and Roxas nearly pushed her away from his cold body, but she hugged him tighter and sighed. "For a second I thought my dream came true" She murmured against his shoulder.  
Roxas thought it was better to keep his mouth shut, so both he and she could calm down.  
Kairi must have felt his tenseness and she let him go while eyeing him critically. "You look upset" She simply said while resting her hand against his cheek. "What happened?"  
He shook his head. "Nothing, really…"  
Kairi took her hand back and looked at him. "None of my business?" She guessed, with a small smile around her lips.  
He took a shaky breath and frowned. "That doesn't sound nice at all, but I guess it all comes down on that"  
To his surprise, she started laughing as she stood up. She extended her hand to him and smiled down at him. Roxas didn't even hesitate, his plans to put the distance between him and her long gone, and grabbed her hand. She helped him stand up, but didn't let go of his hand. "Fine, I'll keep my mouth shut about it. Everyone may have a couple of dark secrets"  
He raised his brow at her. "_Dark _secrets? You've got some?"  
She laughed again. "They're secrets, so I'm not telling"  
Roxas felt a fond smile move the corners of his lips upwards. "I still doubt you have _dark _secrets, you know"  
Kairi cocked her head to the side as they walked and frowned. "Yeah, I don't think I have really _dark _secrets…"  
She crinkled her nose, making him laugh. "Bleh… That's not fair! I want dark secrets too!"  
Roxas chuckled as he let go of her hand and wrapped his arm around her shoulder instead. She reacted immediately and wrapped hers around his waist. A moment later, Roxas realized what he had done, but he also realized that it was too late. He was done with hurting her with those tiny things as letting go of her hand, pulling away or leaving her alone when she slept.  
And, besides, it felt only natural… how could something feeling so natural be so bad?  
They didn't speak again on their way.  
_

Axel was worried about his daughter. She acted off lately, or, that was the way it seemed for him and Naminé. She wasn't visiting Taylor much anymore and she always locked herself up in her room.  
That night, at dinner, Axel wanted to confront her.  
She sat in silence, her left cheek leaning on her hand and she drew circles on the table, not paying any attention to her food at all.  
"Kairi?"  
She looked up, but as soon her eyes met Axel's, she averted her gaze to the table again.  
"I want to talk with you"  
She cringed, but didn't look up. She didn't speak either.  
Axel had no idea of the blond boy behind her, who crossed his arms and frowned.  
Axel shot his wife a pleading glance and Naminé cleared her throat. "You've been acting off lately, and we wondered what was wrong?"  
Kairi folded her arms on the table and dropped her head in her arms as she sighed.  
Axel looked at her, his red eyebrows furrowing together. His hand reached out and he rested it on her head. "Honey?"  
Kairi's clenched fists trembled.  
Axel now wrapped his arm around her. "Kai, you know you can tell us everything, right? Just like when you were little, we're still here to help you"  
"You can't help me now, dad" Kairi said, her voice soft.  
"I can still listen to you" He said, determined to help his daughter out of this. Whatever it was.  
Kairi looked up, her usual bright eyes dimmed and worries nearly seemed to flow out of them, making her eyes more blue than ever. "You wouldn't understand" Kairi murmured.  
Naminé's light blue eyes stared intensively at her daughter. "Then try to explain. We really want to help you"  
Kairi looked back at her mother and they seemed to talk with each other without words, making both Axel and Roxas wary, and Axel more worried and Roxas fascinated.  
"Mom…"  
"Kairi…"  
Kairi smiled tenderly at her mother and received one back. "Just not now"  
"Not now… whenever you're ready"  
Kairi stood up and left the kitchen, Roxas trailing close behind her. Axel blinked twice and stared at his wife. "You just let her go like that?" He said harshly, disbelief clear in his voice.  
"Axel, she's not ready… I have a feeling everything she says is being under some kind of control. She'll tell us what bothers her as soon as that control slips away for once"  
"I don't understand…" Axel muttered, crossing his arms as he pursued his lips.  
Naminé smiled at her husband. "That's exactly why Kairi didn't want to tell us that she can't say it yet"  
Axel threw his hands in the air. "What did you do to make her so complicated that only you can understand her?"  
Naminé leaned in and gave Axel a small kiss. "That's woman-logic, honey. That's why you don't understand and probably the one who controls her every move doesn't as well"  
"Wait… what?"

Roxas watched Kairi close her door and lock it. "What did you try to say to your mother?" He said wary. True, he trusted Kairi more than anything else… but what happened a couple of minutes ago was odd…  
Kairi shrugged, but didn't answer him, which alarmed him more than he expected. "Kairi?" He demanded. Suddendly she turned in a flash, startling him and wrapped her arms around his neck.  
Roxas's body took control of its own and his arms wrapped around her, pressing her close.  
He buried his face in her hair as he realized she had him once again. "Is this some kind of method to shush me?"  
Her fingers trailed over his back and he could feel her smile against his skin. "Maybe"  
Roxas knew it was useless to try to push her away. He craved too much for her touch, her warm body in his arms, to push her away.  
He knew that if he pushed her away, he would push her mental presence away too. And that was the one he needed to keep close in order to protect her.  
"Roxas?"  
"Hm?"  
He wanted to cut his hands off when he realized they were low on her waist now. That must have happened when he was thinking. His body always lived a life on its own if he just let his control slip away for once.  
"Did you met up with Sora every once in the month?"  
Roxas pulled her closer. "Yes"  
"You haven't been to him last month"  
"I don't want to leave you alone"  
Kairi pulled away a bit, but Roxas didn't let her. "Why not? I'm not in danger and I'm not a dangerous person-"  
"I'm not saying anything" Roxas said, a smile growing on his face.  
"So, I think Sora needs to see you too"  
"Too?" Roxas pulled away to look at her and wished he hadn't done that, because when his eyes looked in hers, he knew what she meant already.  
"I need to see you as well" She whispered. "But I guess you knew that already"  
He sighed. "I did" He let her go, but his hand cupped her face. "I suppose you're right… about seeing Sora"  
"He's your friend" Kairi said while taking his hand in hers. "I think he is a bit lonely… Taylor has a complicated and busy social life… he'll be alone most of the day"  
Roxas sighed as he intertwined his fingers with hers. "I'll go, but I won't be long"  
He gave her a small smile and let her hand go, but she held him back and he realized too late she was coming too close. "Kai-" He breathed while he tried to step back, but her lips pressed softly on his cheek.  
His eyes widened and he staggered back. Kairi looked down and her face had nearly reached the same color as her hair. "I-I'm sorry" She stuttered. Roxas felt a rush through his body, nearly yanking him forward, but he held himself. Maybe it was really a good idea to visit Sora, just to be away from his personal drug for a while. But he hated it to see her so embarrassed. He took her face in his hands and stroke her lips with his thumb. "It doesn't matter… you just surprised me" He murmured to his drug. "Just… be here when I come back, okay?"  
She nodded and he smiled at her before walking over to the window and letting himself drop to the pavement.  
_

Kairi felt empty as he left her room. She felt stupid for kissing him, but she had just done it.  
However, she had no time for regrets. Roxas was gone and she needed this time to break one of the rules. Telling her parents about him.  
She unlocked her door, threw it open and rushed downstairs.  
Her parents were still in the kitchen, talking. They immediately stopped talking when Kairi stumbled inside.  
She took a chair as she looked at her parents. "I have to make it quick, he's coming back soon"  
Axel frowned. "Who?"  
Naminé gave him a teasing whack on his shoulder. "The one who controlled her every move"  
Kairi furrowed her brows. "Not really that… it's just… I can't tell you about him because I would break one of the rules he has to keep intact…"  
She made eye contact with her father. "Dad… I met my guardian angel"  
Her father's eyes widened. "Can't be! It's just a story, Kairi!"  
She shook her head. "No. It's true and mine is away for a couple of moments, so I have to be quickly"  
Naminé smiled at her daughter. "Tell us your story and I'll explain everything to dad later… he's a bit slow today"  
Axel grimaced and Kairi chuckled before she started. "It began when I was fourteen and woke up with my guardian angel in my room…"  
_

Roxas was gone for a hour, and that was more than enough for Kairi to tell her parents what was maybe going to happen. Her parents were sad, but they assured her they would be okay if she kept visiting them. However she wasn't sure she could keep that promise, she went along with it.  
As Kairi ran back to her room, locked the door and let herself fall onto her bed, Roxas landed on the windowsill. His eyes shot up and found hers immediately. "Hey"  
She sat up and watched him jump on the floor. "Hey"  
He hesitated, then walked over to the chair and sat down.  
"Any news?" She started lightly.  
"Sora wants to come here sometimes…" Roxas said slowly, a grin spread across his face.  
"Oh… why exactly?" Kairi asked, laying flat on her stomach and rested her face on her folded arms.  
"Taylor and her boyfriend are reaching a new stadium… Sora doesn't like to be there watching them make out" Roxas grimaced. "I don't think I would like it to watch you doing that as well…"  
Kairi laughed. "Guess I'll have another person in my room then… maybe you should make a bit of space for him"  
"He's not coming here" Roxas said, a dark tone slipped in his voice. "Because I won't have anybody to talk to anymore if he's here"  
Kairi frowned and twirled a strand of her hair between her fingers. "I'll be just as present as I am now, so I don't really understand you"  
He rolled his eyes. "First of all, I was joking – not about him coming here, though – and secondly, Sora is going to keep you so busy you won't be able to speak to me in your whole life again"  
Kairi let herself roll over so she laid on her back and kept looking at Roxas, however he was now turned upside down. "He's not coming here" Kairi agreed as she smiled at him.  
Roxas smiled at her and stood up. "Nope" He simply said as he walked over to her and sat down in front of her on his knees. "Doesn't that make the blood flow to your head?"  
Kairi shrugged. "Ain't a problem"  
Roxas chuckled and cocked his head to the side. "Your eyes look different when you're turned upside down… They look more violet now instead of blue…"  
Kairi frowned as she crinkled her nose. "_Violet_? I thought only bad witches had that eyecolour…"  
He laughed again and he touched the skin under her eyes. "Hmm… guess you prove yourself wrong…"  
"Again" She sighed.  
Roxas gave her a crooked smile as he pushed a strand of her hair out of her face. "I like both colors, though… blue looks really pretty on you, but violet looks dazzling on you too"  
"You know, do you use a lot of gel to gain that effect in your hair?" Kairi asked, curiously as she reached out to touch his hair.  
He chuckled. "That's just the way my hair is… I can't do anything about it"  
"Sora's hair looks like he's been electrocuted…" She mumbled while letting her hand slid from his hair to his cheek. Roxas laughed. "I never looked at his hair like that… but I guess you're right"  
She smiled back at him as she closed her eyes. "Again" He softly added.  
She was tired. She had done everything she needed to do. All there was left was to wait.  
Kairi felt Roxas' cold hands cup her face and she felt his cool breath on her lips.  
"Good night, Kairi" He whispered.  
"Good night… Roxas"  
_

Roxas sighed as Kairi's breathing got slower and steadier. She was asleep and left him alone in the shadows of the night.  
Wouldn't it be great to be forever with her, day _and _night?

He shook his head and took her in his arms and sat down like they had before and put her between his legs. He twirled a strand of his hair between his fingers and sighed. The red glow in her hair seemed to glow brighter, like his personal fire in the night.  
He needed it, he decided when he stared into the depths of the night. His personal light… Kairi sighed in her sleep and buried her face in his shirt. "Roxas…"  
A smile tugged the edges of his lips upwards.  
Sora said it was maybe better to choose for each other instead of trying to do something right, but well… maybe he was right…  
Somehow he knew Kairi was more prepared than him for whatever coming up for them.  
Roxas sighed and tried to understand what was happening to him.  
The realization hit him like a car running him over and coming back to run him over one more time.  
There was no way back for them.  
_

**Sorry this part was so long… and I realized I was still not done with the story… which is why this is part One and a Half.  
Hope you enjoyed this part!**

__


	3. Part Two

**Your Guardian Angel**

_Two – Shot_

_{Part Two}  
__Final Part_

The stars had never been this clear before. Or, they had always been this clear and bright before… but he's never noticed until now.  
Roxas sighed and looked back at the bed. Kairi was still fast asleep.  
He returned his gaze to the stars and wondered what was happing above his head.  
Sure… heaven did have something extremely… different. Something calm, something relieving…  
But now he knew there was something more, he didn't want to end up there all alone.  
_"Be selfish… don't let me end up there without you… please…"  
_Apparently Kairi thought the same.  
Still, he had no idea what the 'bond' exactly was. He had no idea how things worked exactly. Hell… even Sora didn't know.  
And if his best friend didn't know those things… who knew?  
But… there was something odd about his best friend…

* * *

_"Thus, there might be chance you fall in love with the one you protect…"  
Roxas snorted and chuckled darkly. "Who will fall in love with those damned humans? That's just stupid! I've never been in love before, so I won't fall in love. Period."  
Sora shrugged. "If you think so… it has happened before."  
"Next?"  
"I wasn't finished yet, Scott."  
Roxas sighed annoyed and turned away as well. "Continue then."  
"If things grow serious… you'll form a bond with her… or him, whatever is the case"  
"I'm not gay."  
Sora chuckled. "I wasn't assuming that, but who knows? Things are getting weird sometimes."  
"Continue." Roxas' voice was hard, uninterested.  
"Well, so, if you have formed a bond with her, you can't live without her… never again."  
Roxas tapped impatiently on the floor with his foot. "Interesting. So what? She'll die, if it's not that day, it's the tomorrow after that"  
Sora frowned. "True. That's why she won't get older if you formed that bond. You actually destroy her life by forming that bond with her… well, not really __destroy__ her life… you're taking away the living life she could've lived… because she won't be able to live without you as well… she needs to be with you all the time and that means being with other people but without you is impossible"  
Roxas rolled his eyes once more. "Really, Sora? And what's actually making it official you're bonded?"  
Sora shrugged. "I'm not sure. I heard kissing is making the bond, but someone said she has to be pregnant," Sora scratched the back of his head. "But I don't believe Cloud, actually."  
"So, when do you find out you've formed a bond with her? Wait, you know what? Never mind. I don't care"  
Sora ignored his last comment and tapped his chin with his finger. "Well… they say you have a craving for the person you have to protect… kind of like you want her to be yours, only yours… and kissing her is kind of unavoidable"  
"Is this one of the biggest rules or something?" Roxas grumbled.  
Sora grinned. "Kind of. It's the only one with the most consequences, you see."_

* * *

Roxas suddendly froze on the spot.

_"True. That's why she won't get older if you formed that bond. You actually destroy her life by forming that bond with her… well, not really __destroy__ her life… you're taking away the living life she could've lived… because she won't be able to live without you as well… she needs to be with you all the time and that means being with other people but without you is impossible"  
Roxas rolled his eyes once more. "Really, Sora? And what's actually making it official you're bonded?"  
Sora shrugged. "I'm not sure. I heard kissing is making the bond, but someone said she has to be pregnant," Sora scratched the back of his head. "But I don't believe Cloud, actually"  
"So, when do you find out you've formed a bond with her? Wait, you know what? Never mind. I don't care"  
Sora ignored his last comment and tapped his chin with his finger. "Well… they say you have a craving for the person you have to protect… kind of like you want her to be yours, only yours… and kissing her is kind of unavoidable"  
"Is this one of the biggest rules or something?" Roxas grumbled.  
Sora grinned. "Kind of. It's the only one with the most consequences, you see"_

Sora had made it look like he didn't know much about the 'bond'-thing… but… now he thought about it…

_"Well… that's not a real big mistake…" Sora said thoughtful. "Yet"_

_"Well, __I __doubt that… but, go on"_

_"Hmmm…" Sora tapped his chin. "And what happened next?"_

_"What did she say?" Sora was getting more alarmed._

_"She knows about the bond?"  
"No"  
Sora frowned and rubbed his arm. "Well… this sounds kind of serious, Roxas…"  
"Sora… I nearly kissed her"  
The boy froze and stared at his friend, who hadn't budged an inch. He sat there, hugging his knees and resting his head upon his arms.  
"You… nearly… __kissed…__ her?"  
Roxas made another tormented noise and let himself fall down on his back, his eyes pressed shut and his jaw tense.  
"Dude, what the hell is wrong with you? She doesn't know about the consequences, but yet you just-"_

_Sora sighed. "I don't know, Roxas. Maybe the only good thing now is just to form that bond with her"_

By the time he had taken his decision, the stars were fading. Maybe Sora did know after all.  
There were lots of stuff Sora didn't really _want _to talk about. But he let slip things from time to time.  
All he had to do was to _make _him tell.

* * *

Kairi woke up to see Roxas sitting on the windowsill. He looked outside with a frown on his face.  
She sat up, but Roxas didn't move. "Roxas?"  
He finally turned to her and flashed her a tired smile. "Hey. You're awake."  
She smiled before she slowly got out of her bed and walked over to him. She waited a moment, hesitating, and Roxas's arm reached out for her. She walked into his arms and wrapped hers around his neck. "Good morning."  
He buried his face in her neck. "Good morning."  
They stayed like that for a while, until a voice suddendly called out. "Roxas! You there? What do you want to-"  
Roxas removed his face from her neck calmly, right before a head with brown spikes hung in front of the window, upside down.  
"Oh, hi there Kairi!"  
Roxas had quickly put his hand on Kairi's mouth, to prevent her to scream, or whatever she wanted to do. He felt her jump a little, but she didn't say anything, she was just frozen for a few seconds. Then she removed his hand. "Hey Sora. What the heck are you doing in front of my window… upside down?"  
He grinned and slid inside. "Well, didn't Roxas tell you…"  
Suddendly his eye fell on Roxas's arm, still wrapped around Kairi's waist. His eyebrow raised and he looked at Roxas. Roxas stared back.  
Kairi, however she didn't understand it at all, unwillingly removed his hand from her waist. "I suppose you guys want to talk? I'll leave you guys alone, then…"  
But Roxas tugged at her waist again so she stood close to him. "You don't have to-"  
Sora shook his head. "I think that's fine. You can have breakfast, and by the time you're done, we'll be done, I think." He gave her a wink.  
She smiled back at him and looked at Roxas. She ruffled her hand through his hair before walking to the door.  
But when she was about to close the door, the last she saw was the both guys glaring at each other.  
And somehow she got a feeling it was about her.

* * *

They remained silent. Then Sora opened his mouth. "This did seem serious to me. Out of control serious, that kind, actually."  
"May I quote? '_I don't know, Roxas. Maybe the only good thing now is just to form that bond with her_'?"  
Sora frowned. "Yeah… still. I thought you were the one who was against it so much."  
"And you were the one who knew 'nothing' about it, huh?"  
"And Kairi didn't know 'anything' about the bond, huh?"  
They both shot each other death glares.  
Roxas didn't break the gaze. "What do _you_ know about the bond?"  
Sora didn't answer.  
"Sora…"  
"Roxas, there's no way back for you both. Not for Kairi, not for you. You've headed too far. Everyone knows back home. Even Kairi knows now."  
Roxas's eyes darkened with the speed of lightning. "How the hell would _you _know? God, you don't even know her!"  
It sounded like he wanted, desperately, to prove Sora wrong.  
"Maybe you're right," Sora said calmly. "But-"  
"Sora, for Pete's sake, what do you want me to do? You're telling me 'it's getting serious' like I should run away like the devil's licking my heels, and yet you want me to proceed? Wha-"  
Sora sighed in frustration. "Roxas, all I ask you to do is to think! Think this through, and not only in your mind! You have to be absolutely sure this is what you want! You should talk to her about it too. However I'm sure she already made her decision."  
Roxas now stood up in a flash and growled. "You. Don't. Know. Her! You have no idea, I repeat, you have _no_ fucking idea what's she's like!"  
"Remember when you left her in my care?" Sora raised his voice as well. "And I think I know her in some ways better than you do!"  
These words finally sank in. Roxas was silenced and he frowned.  
"What ways?" He asked, his voice back to its normal volume. In a threatening way.  
"Kairi has taken care of everything here. She's ready."  
Roxas looked down, then clenched his fists. "What do you mean with 'taken care of everything here'?"  
Sora shook his head. "I'm allowed to tell Taylor where she is, since I'm her guardian angel, and she told her parents where she is if you guys would ever complete the bond."  
"_What?!_"  
Sora rolled with his eyes. "Dude, I'm planning on asking you if you even know the girl you're protecting. Maybe you are actually assigned to the girl next door."  
"Don't ask." Roxas growled. "I think I can say with all the honesty in the world I don't."  
Sora patted him on his shoulder. "You do know her… but I reckon she kept this a secret."  
Silence.  
"Sora. What do you know about the bond?"  
Sora sat down and crossed his arms. "The most important things, I guess."  
"Tell me."  
"You're seriously thinking about completing it?"  
Roxas looked down for a moment. Then, he looked back at Sora and a tender smile curled his lips. "I do. It's not like I have any other choice." He added quickly, as he noticed Sora's grin.  
Sora still smiled. "The bond is discovered by a couple of guardian angels, who all fell in love with the persons they had to protect. Because the life of the girl, or boy, would be ended, and the guardian angels would be alone forever, they came up with the bond."  
"How does it works?"  
"Most people agree on the thing I told you. Kissing. One kiss can be enough, if your feelings are strong enough, they say. I think that's partly right."  
Roxas rolled with his eyes. "Kind of vague, don't you think?"  
Sora shrugged and sat down, his hands clutching the windowsill. "Yeah. These things are kind of vague. They always are. They have to."  
"Go on."  
"Well, the bond is actually based on free will. If an angel would kiss somebody against their will, there won't be a bond, they say."  
His friend frowned. "But then what _is _the bond?"  
Sora laughed. "To be honest, it's nothing more than a special connection between the angel and the person he, or she, protects. It's love, Roxas. Love. No one tells it to others, but they tell the kissing thing. Sometimes people only recognize love while kissing, so that's why we say you must avoid that. I never told you, because, be honest, would you've listened to me?"  
Roxas shook his head and laughed. "I don't think so. It's old."  
Sora laughed. "Yes, true enough. But seriously, you _are _already bonded."  
"Excuse me?"  
"From the moment you realized you loved her."

* * *

There was a long silence.  
After a while, Roxas regained the power to move. And he sighed again. "Never thought I would end up here…" He murmured. "If I could tell my 'younger' self about this, he would've never believed it."  
"She's changed you, eh? She's definitely changed you."  
Roxas slightly smiled. "Wasn't hard to-"  
The door slightly opened. Kairi hesitantly stepped into the room. "Are you guys finished, or should I go downstairs again?"  
Sora chuckled at Roxas's expression and turned to Kairi again. "It's okay to stay here. We're done with the talk."  
Kairi walked to Roxas and he took her in his arms. She nestled her face against his chest and slightly turned to look at Sora. "What?"  
Sora gently smiled at her. "I never told you, but heck… you remind me of my girlfriend so much…"  
Kairi blushed and smiled back. "I'll take that as a compliment."  
Roxas buried his face in her neck and felt nervous.  
Walking down the long path he had tried to avoid was harder than it looked like and he was, actually, really scared.  
What would happen now?

* * *

Kairi laid down on the floor, while Roxas sat upright in her chair.  
"Soooo," She said, poking Roxas's ankle. "What did you guys have to talk about so long?"  
"You," Roxas said bluntly, smiling down at her.  
"Ah! I knew it!" She said, pointing an accusing finger at him. "I just knew it!"  
Roxas chuckled as he bent over to touch her nose. "Yes, I suppose you did. Did you know what else it was about?"  
She shrugged and sat up to rest her head against his knees. "No, I don't, actually. But I was kinda hoping you would tell me." She looked up at him, pleading.  
"I am going to tell you," He said, getting a bit nervous.  
"I'm listening," she said, smiling at him.  
He stroke her hair. "I know," he murmured.  
Roxas took a deep breath and kept looking at her as he felt his throat dry up, like a desert.  
"We're bonded, you and I."

She didn't even blink.  
Then, she nodded slightly. "Yes," she murmured, with a slight smile, "We are, aren't we?"  
"You're not asking about the kiss-that-never-was?" He asked, curious.  
She chuckled. "I might, and I will, I guess. But it's just, I can feel it."  
She stroke his knee with her fingertips. "I can feel I belong to you, that's why it doesn't surprise me."  
He stood up and pulled her along with him. He was so happy that he couldn't express himself anymore. He just pulled her against him, hugging her tightly.  
"I-I love you," he blurted.  
She chuckled tenderly. "I love you too!" She said, smiling at him.  
And this was, maybe, how it was meant to be.

* * *

The wise Father sat above. His first Angel entered the room with grace. "Your Highness," the Angel said. "There is news, big news from Earth."  
"Then, continue, my dear friend," the Father said. "What's wrong?"  
"Nothing's wrong, oh Highness," his old friend said. "I think we might celebrate a little, for we can welcome back Roxas Scott and Kairi Clayworth here anytime now."  
"Roxas Scott? The boy who died years ago and is now sent out to Earth to guard?"  
"Yes, sir, exactly sir," the Angel said happily. "And he bonded with the girl he had to protect!"  
"Bonded, you say?" the Father said, thinking. "The last time we got an Angel who wished to bond was in 1324, wasn't it?"  
"Yes, Father," the Angel said. "But Angelico Alejandro never actually bonded. Roxas and Kairi are already bonded, sir."  
The Father smiled, and the sun started to shine on Earth again.  
"Inform our dear friends that we will welcome them back here once they are ready to leave the Earth."  
The first Angel started to grin. "Excellent, sir, right away, sir!"  
As he left the room, the Father stroke his long beard with a small smile. "It's never too late," he murmured.

* * *

Kairi pulled away a bit. "So, what do we do now?" She asked.  
Roxas shook his head. "They will inform the Father; nothing goes unnoticed by the first Angel."  
"I still got a lot to learn, don't I?"  
Roxas felt a laugh bubble up in his chest. He had never been so happy before.  
He cupped her face in his palms and smiled at her. "We both still got a lot to learn."  
Then he slowly leaned in, her warm breath on his lips within seconds.  
Just before their lips touched, he hesitated a moment. Her breaths came in shivers, her eyelids already close but still fluttering.  
Then he finally, after all the struggling, kissed her, like it was the easiest thing in the world. Like there had never been a problem with kissing her. Her lips were warm, tender and soft.  
The second his lips touched hers, she felt a warm wave wash through her. And underneath her hand, resting on his chest, she felt something started to thump.  
First barely noticeable, then louder and louder.  
_Thump. Thump. Thump. Thump._

* * *

They parted both to stare at each other and then at Roxas's chest.  
"R-Roxas!" Kairi stuttered, completely baffled. "D-did your heart just start to beat?!"  
Roxas gasped, as he wasn't used to the sound of something banging so rapidly in his ears.  
Kairi watched in awe as she saw blood flush to his face. He put his hand on his chest, and blinked a couple of times in surprise. "I-it really does beat again!" he said, looking back at her with big eyes.  
Kairi slowly moved toward him and took his hand in hers. "You're warm now!" she exclaimed with a grin. "You're the same temperature as I am now!"  
Roxas didn't answer, but pulled her against him again and pressed his lips onto hers again.  
She was surprised but answered the kiss warmly.  
This was what she had always wanted.  
All she ever wanted.

* * *

"Can I never escape from kissing couples?" Sora groaned as he leaned on his tiptoes on the windowsill.  
"Sora!" Roxas grumbled as he walked to the window. "Give us a break and get out!"  
Sora stuck his tongue at him. "Not now and not ever!"  
He sat down and looked at them, very pleased with what he saw. "Now, I came to say goodbye to both of you," he said. "I'm sure we'll see each other again very soon, within a year or eighty at least."  
Kairi stared at him. "A year of eighty?!"  
Sora chuckled. "You don't age anymore, Kai. You'll notice for sure that time flies in Paradise!"  
Roxas smiled as he tucked Kairi in his arms. "I hope I see you a bit earlier than those eighty years, Parker."  
"I'll miss you too, Scotty boy," Sora said cheerily. "Also, I came here to tell you that the first Angel is on his way to create a portal for both of you. I'm glad I was here earlier!" he then exclaimed loudly. "The last time I wanted to say goodbye to someone, he had teleported them a week before I finally arrived. So sad, really. But guys," he said, giving them another grin. "have fun and remember to be good!"

* * *

The first Angel arrived two hours after Sora had left.  
Roxas greeted him with a grateful bow.  
"Ah, Mr. Scott," the first Angel said. "I see your heart is beating again?"  
Roxas nodded as he straightened himself again. "Yes, sir. I'm ready for my afterlife."  
The Angel laughed. "I can see you are. You are such a pretty lady, Ms. Clayworth," he said gently to Kairi, who blushed and stuttered a 'thank you'.  
He then extended his hand to them. "Shall we?"  
Roxas and Kairi shared a gaze before they gave him their hand.  
"Very well," he said. "Off we go, to eternity."

* * *

**(For those of you who wonder what happened after the end of my story: )**

Roxas and Kairi lived together in Paradise for the rest of their happy eternity. Kairi was allowed to visit her parents once in a while, and Sora did came back after seventy years to say 'hello' before he was off to protect a new human. Roxas never had to guard someone again, since his job as a guardian angel had finished.

* * *

**Now, dear readers, remember: there is always someone watching over you, protecting you from harm and danger.**  
**If you feel lonely, sad or depressed anytime again, you know there is someone listening,**

**Kind regards,**

**Your Guardian Angel.**

* * *

(A/N _Hi there! I know it took me so long to update this chapter. I kind of grew out of the story, but since I cherish this, I decided to finish it. I'm sorry if it's not what you expected, but this was going to happen all along :)  
I'm actually really glad it's finished. I've changed a lot since the last time I wrote for this story, so I'm glad I was actually able to finish this, even though I've changed my vision on these things.  
Don't be hard on me, since this story does mean so much for me (:  
Thanks so much for reading and sticking with me to the end. I hope you have enjoyed it and don't kill me in my sleep. I think I would make a horrible guardian angel since I'm so clumsy all the time.  
Thanks for reading! :D_

_Lots of love,  
PrincessMXx_


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